Chaos Reigns: Rise of a New Hero
by Ravien VaLente Spada
Summary: A young boy's home village is destroyed, said boy meeting the three sworn brothers soon afterwards. Watch as he rises to power with his life turning in a new direction. OC/Diao Chan, OC/OC pairings. REDONE. Redux is up and started!
1. A Home, Destroyed

(play Dynasty Warriors 7 BGM - Opening)

Hey there! This is KnightMan1890 coming at ya with my first FanFiction story! (alright, fanboy moment over) Anyways, my first tale will be one based off my spring break-acquired Dynasty Warriors 7. It will be a OC-centric story mainly following the Shu storyline.

Warnings:

Strong OC: He won't be extremely overpowered(or Gary Sue-like, hopefully), but he'll be tough enough to handle some of the stronger characters(i.e. Zhang Liao, Zhao Yun, etc.).

OOC characters: I've been playing this game for a good while now, but don't expect me to get all of the characters personalities down to a T. Some might be off, so I apologize for that in advance. Hope you enjoy.

"speech"

'_thinking' _

_**narration **_

(author's notes & comments)

(Let's get started…)

(play DW7 BGM - Shu Overture) (this will apply to any narration unless noted otherwise)

_**It was the spring of the year 184. **_

_**During the Later Han period, the signs of impending rebellion were everywhere. Corruption within the Imperial Court had thrown the land into chaos and caused the people to suffer greatly. In this time of uncertainty, the people found themselves yearning for change. **_

_**Zhang Jiao, the leader of a religious sect known as the "Way of Peace", fanned the flames of rebellion and formed an army. This uprising would later come to be known as the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the threat of which looming like a dark cloud over the Han. Sensing its impending doom, the Imperial Court raised a call for troops across the land.**_

_**Among those who answered was a man who fought on behalf of the people. His name was Liu Bei, and he was a descendent of Han royalty. **_

"_**Though we may have been born separately, we will die together as one." **_

_**With this oath, taken in the peach garden with his two sworn brothers, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, Liu Bei joined the battle against the Yellow Turbans. For within his heart, there was no greater cause than to ease the people's suffering.**_

_**However, unbeknownst to the three, their first major encounter with these rebels would prove to be more significant than any of them would have ever thought…**_

(play DW7 BGM - "Escape From Hell")

_Fire. _

That was all he could see as he ran through the burning village.

_Pain._

That was all he could feel, dragging a bloody right arm and head wound as he went along as fast as his young body would carry him.

_Death. _

It was all around him. Although the other happenings were shrouded by the flames, he could hear the dying screams of the villagers, whether it be by burning to death or being slaughtered by the attackers.

_Escape. _

It was all he could think of doing. It was all he _could _do. Despite his moderate skills in the ways of fighting(as his village was located near a military outpost, so weapons and training methods were sometimes "acquired"), he wouldn't be able to stand up to an entire mob of these bandits by himself. It was moot point anyways, since his body, especially his arm, was highly damaged in the assault.

The boy was only 9 years of age, with cerulean-blue eyes and vibrant silver hair, now matted with blood. He was wearing a simple black vest and pants with dark brown casual(as in, non-fighting) shoes. However, his clothing was now tattered and ripped with spots of blood, dirt, and grime shining through. His face was slightly thin and angled, with little baby fat, but it was now marred with tears at the thought of what was driving him away from his home all alone.

'_Mom…Dad…Sis…' _he thought with melancholy at the fate of his family members. They were dead…all of them.

_Freedom._

He noticed he had managed to escape the village into the world beyond. But, what would he do now?

_Danger. _

That was the feeling that suddenly sprang up in him as he saw various bandits coming out of the woodwork around him, each with some sort of weapon in hand. He froze as if encased in ice. Fear rose in his expression.

"Well, well, well…what do we have here?" one of the bandits spoke with a smirk as the child backed away, unfortunately finding himself surrounded. "A little kid survived the purge. We can't have that, can we, boys? For the glory of our Great Teacher!"

A resounding chorus of approval met the declaration as a new wave of fear and apprehension surged forth within the boy.

The bandits began to advance forth, slowly, enjoying the increasing look of terror on the child's face. _'A-Am I really…gonna die here?' _"N-No…stay back…s-stay back…" the boy began to plead with the enemies, tears returning to his eyes. The bandits merely scoffed and laughed at his misfortune, continuing their advance.

Something happened within the boy at that time. Whether it was out of self-preservation, desperation, some sort of anger, or a combination of the three, _something_ snapped. A fierce snarl coming to his lips, he suddenly sprang forth. "GET AWAY!" he nearly _roared_, drawing a hidden dagger from within his vest, and attacking the nearest bandit in a fit of blind rage, slashing his neck open before he could react. If one looked closely at the boy's eyes, one would see that they had become a strange crimson color.

The bandits, not expecting this sudden attack, could only watch in shock as their comrade grabbed his neck and fell to the ground, convulsing for a few seconds before becoming still.

The boy stood, his face still stuck in fury until his mind fully caught up with what he had just done, turning his expression to one of horror as he dropped his now bloody-red dagger, his eyes returning to their normal blue.

He had _killed _someone, in cold blood…and the bandits had now fully realized that as well. "Hey! How dare you kill one of us, you little punk! Get him!" one yelled as they surged forth, forgoing all thoughts of mercy.

"N-No…I-I didn't…mean to…" the child whispered nearly to himself, the bandits too engrossed in their anger to listen or care. "H-Help…" the boy silently cried as he braced for impact, throwing his arms to cover his face.

It seemed time had slowed to a standstill. The memories came to him in a whirlwind.

Helping around the house with his mother…

Hunting with his father…

Playing with his little sister…

None of it mattered anymore…they were dead, and he was about to join them.

"SOMEONE, PLEASE HELP ME!" he screamed out, hoping against hope that someone, _anyone_, would hear and come to his aid. (end song)

The bandits had closed in, preparing to strike.

It was over…

That is, until…

…his cries for help were answered.

"HRRAAGHH!" A yell was suddenly heard, echoing across the clearing. However, it was neither the boy nor any of the bandits who did it.

Perhaps…

It was the giant of a man who had seemingly dropped from the sky, appearing in the bandit's way. With his battle cry, he slashed his blade in a wide, circular arc, killing all the bandits in a single stroke.

The boy, easily hearing the war cry(as the man had landed right in front of him) and noticing he wasn't dead, uncovered his face and looked up to see his savior.

The man was tall, extremely so to the child, and he wore a majestic-looking armor with a double-sided sash at the waist and dark brown pants and shoes underneath. The color was predominately green with his left arm being a long sleeve and his right arm with no sleeve, but having a green armband instead. What struck the boy most about his appearance was the giant, black beard on the man's face. (can ya guess who it is yet)

His weapon was a long pike with what appeared to be a golden dragon wrapped around it, a green and silver blade protruding from the dragon's mouth.

Whether it was the war cry, his stature, or the huge weapon in his hands, something just screamed _powerful _about him.

"Brother!" Another voice was heard, seeming to address the man in front of him. The boy turned to see who it was.

Two men were walking towards them. As they came closer, the boy got a better look at the other two newcomers.

One was a man slightly similar to the one before, albeit more burly with a basic sameness about the armor, but the hair is what set the two apart. This man's was shorter and more scraggly than the first's, most likely being more unkempt. He carried a double-bladed pike.

The other was the most different out of the three. This one had similar armor to the other two, some sort of animal emblazoned on the golden areas, but that was were the similarities ended. Unlike the others, this man had no facial hair, showing his quite young-looking face. His eyes radiated a calmness that, when looking at them, the boy felt somewhat at peace, even in this most stressful of times.

Perhaps that was the reason…

He collapsed to the ground in a heap.

The last thing he saw was the other two rushing over to his downed body, with the first man picking him up. Left behind was the village, now a smoldering pile of ashes.

'_Thank…you…' _That was his last thought before finally succumbing to unconsciousness.

Notes

And there you have it.

Eventually, I'll start giving out the ages of all the main characters at the end of a chapter, once the names of those characters begin to be known(although I'm sure you know who the boy's saviors are already).

KnightMan1890, signing out! R&R, please!


	2. Resolve of a Child

Waz up! It's KnightMan1890, back at ya with another edition of Chaos Reigns. What will happen to the boy from the destroyed village? Who were the men who rescued him? Find out…

"speech"

'_thinking' _

(author's notes & comments)

((scene change))

previous chapter note

_flashback_

_**narration **_

(Last time on Chaos Reigns…)

Perhaps that was the reason…

He collapsed to the ground in a heap. 

The last thing he saw was the other two rushing over to his downed body, with the first man picking him up. Left behind was the village, now a smoldering pile of ashes.

Boy: _'Thank…you…' _was his last thought before finally succumbing to unconsciousness. 

( And now…)

_**The village had been destroyed. **_

_**Looking at the smoldering ashes that was once a small town, the young boy's saviors quickly deduced that the now sleeping child in front of them was the only survivor besides the two men who had informed them of the attack in the first place. Unwilling to simply leave him here to die, they picked him up and began carrying him to their next destination. **_

_**That location was the main camp of the Imperial Army, where they planned to have him rest and recover. Despite a fair amount of resistance from the commander and various others, the young refugee was allowed to stay within the base, provided he didn't cause trouble. The boy was currently resting within a small armory tent, practically dead to the world. **_

_**However, fate has a way of setting events in motion…**_

(play DW7 BGM - "Hide Emotion")

Where was he? What had happened?

The confusion had set upon the boy's mind until his memories began to kick in.

The bandit assault…

He, himself, killing one of them…

The three men who had rescued him…

His home, destroyed…

The images came back in a flurry that threatened to knock him out again, but he fought through it in order to get his bearings straight.

First, he noticed he was warm, and that the area was dark with a small slant of light shining through. His eyes adjusting, he saw that he was covered up in a blanket on a cot inside a small tent.

Hearing the voices of multiple people outside, he rose to a sitting position. Alerting one of the people, the tent flap opened, showing that it was the third man who came to help him, the one with no facial hair. "I see you have awakened, young one. Are you feeling okay?" he asked, a comforting smile on his face. Feeling no malice in this man's posture or face, the boy answered. "Yes, I'm fine, sir."

Taking a scant second to take in the boy's looks now that he wasn't half dead, he saw that the boy's hair actually stuck nearly straight up in spiky bangs, with one falling over the right side of his face. It obscured his right eye, giving him a slightly mysterious look. (think of SSJ2 Gohan's hairstyle) The face itself was angled with very little baby fat, confirming that along with his slight muscle build, this boy had gone through at least some training.

"Please, call me Liu Bei. May I ask what your name is?" Seeing it as only common courtesy as the man had given his name, the boy responded in kind. "My name is Ren Jiang, Liu Bei." Liu Bei nodded at the information as his face took a more serious look.

"Ren Jiang, I am sorry to say, but your home village was destroyed in the attack by the bandits. Very few people may have survived besides you." Liu Bei said with a solemn look on his face. Ren Jiang only sadly nodded, already knowing this from when he had glanced at it just before falling unconscious.

"I…I thank you for saving me, Liu Bei." he relented with a slight bow of his upper body. Liu Bei only shook his head, chuckling slightly. "You're welcome, but it is not needed. You should be thanking my brother, Guan Yu." "The one with the long beard?" the boy asked, a somewhat curious look on his face. Liu Bei chuckled again, figuring that his brother's beard was the first thing that would be noticed about him. "Yes, he is the one."

Nodding at the info, Ren Jiang tried to rouse himself from his bed, but a brief pang of pain shot up in his arm, forcing him back down with a sharp intake of his breath betraying his discomfort. Liu Bei walked over to him, getting some bandages to re-wrap the arm that had again started to bleed. "You mustn't move so quickly. You suffered serious injuries from the bandit assault." he remarked, re-wrapping the boy's arm.

Around the time he was done, the other two men who had rescued Ren Jiang arrived, dressed in full battle gear and weapons in hand. "Ren Jiang, allow me to introduce you to my brothers, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei." Liu Bei said, pointing to the man with the long beard and the one wielding a double-bladed pike, respectively. The two men gave a curt nod to the boy, who responded with one of his own. "Liu Bei? If I may ask, just who were those bandits that attacked my village?"

"They were a part of the group known as the Yellow Turbans, a large army of misguided people who are attempting to take over the land under the reign of their self-proclaimed Great Teacher, Zhang Jiao." the man explained. Ren Jiang nodded, noting that one of the bandits had screamed something about the "Great Teacher" during the raid. "However, the Yellow Turban army has absorbed a large number of common bandits recently, such as the ones who attacked your village. They pillage from the people; stealing and murdering, while this so-called Teacher of theirs does nothing to stop it!" he began to yell, his temper rising and his voice raising every few words or so, but he stopped himself before he scared the boy. Although, the boy had no outward reaction besides a slight widening of the eyes at how bad the problem truly was.

"So, is anyone planning to stop them?" the young boy asked, wondering if anyone was going to do something about this apparently major situation. "Yes. The Imperial Han has created a coalition of various regional warlords in order to stop this threat. We are currently in their main base." Liu Bei answered, calming down. One of the others, Guan Yu, took this time to speak.

"Brother, we have fallen behind the Imperial Army considerably. They have already begun to march. We must pick up the pace and catch up." he said. "Yeah! It's time we pay those Yellow Turban punks back for what they've done!" the third man, Zhang Fei, responded.

"Understood. We should go." he answered as his sworn brothers left and he turned to the boy. "Will you be okay here? I unfortunately do not have the time to find you another home." he asked tentatively.

Ren Jiang caught the hidden order underlying his tone. It said, "Please stay here and be safe. It's too dangerous out there."

"I'll be fine…Lord Liu Bei." he said with a light smile. If the man was surprised at the sudden honorific, he didn't show it as he nodded and left the tent.

After Liu Bei's form could no longer be seen, the boy laid back down on his bed, falling asleep faster than he could realize.

However, in his mind, a hidden resolve had begun to take root…

((3 hours later))

The boy awoke to see that the sun was still high in the sky.

Rousing himself from his sleep once again, he got up and left the tent. He saw that the Imperial Army's main force, including the Grand Commander, He Jin(although the boy didn't know that), was stationed here. One of the guards, noticing his awakening, walked over.

"You may have been brought here by the leader of our volunteer army, but don't expect any formalities from us. You cause any trouble, and we'll throw you out there to let the Yellow Turbans finish what they started." he said in a not-so-nice tone, causing the boy to back up in fright.

The guard, seeing he was thoroughly intimidated, walked back to his position, a small smirk on his face. Only after he walked away did Ren Jiang drop his façade of fear, letting a frown show on his face.

He may have been innocent, but he wasn't stupid…he knew that it couldn't have been a cakewalk for Liu Bei to get the Imperial Army to take in a child refugee, into their main camp, no less!

As such, his plan was to leave, in case things got a bit…unruly with the soldiers. (hey, ya never know what might happen)

Before he could get started however, another man approached him. He was a young man, looking to be a few years younger than Liu Bei, and his hair was black and short with some of it tied into a bun. He was wearing a simple green and brown peasant outfit.

He looked familiar to the young refugee, but he just couldn't figure out why.

"Hey! Ren Jiang! You made it out, too!" the man yelled out as he brought the boy into a embrace. Slightly flustered at his actions, Ren backed off slightly. "Not to be rude, but who are you, sir?" he asked, confused. "I'm surprised you don't remember me, considering I'm your _uncle_ and all." the man answered, shocking the boy.

Thinking for a moment, the boy's eyes widened when he came to a realization. "What? Uncle Jin Zang?" Ren said, remembering who the man was. The now identified Jin Zang smiled. "Yep, it's me, kiddo! Nice to see you're not dead. Although, it doesn't look like I could say the same about my brother, sister, or niece, huh?" he ended with a solemn tone. Ren only shook his head negatively, not trusting his voice at that moment. "That's unfortunate…I never would've thought we'd be attacked like that…" his uncle continued, the boy nodding solemnly.

"How did you survive?" the boy asked. "Remember, I wasn't in the village at the time. I was out gathering food. I saw the place burning while on my way back and ran for help along with my partner. I do believe the ones who helped are right over there." he said, pointing towards the gates. Ren saw that it was Liu Bei and his brothers. "I know them, they saved me from a bandit attack just before I would've gotten killed." Ren remarked, surprising his uncle. "Really, now? I'll have to thank them for that as well." he said before turning to his nephew with a serious look.

"Well, I'll tell you right now, kid. Be careful out here. It's a dangerous world when you don't know your way. Besides, I'm betting these Imperial soldiers aren't as pleasant as others make them out to be. I'll be watching out for you, okay?" he said, Ren nodding. "Alright. Thanks, uncle." he said, giving the man a hug. "No problem."

((Afterwards))

Going back into the tent, in which he found several weapons, Ren came out shouldering a crossbow with a quiver on his back and a small sword strapped to his waist. His hidden dagger was again wrapped within his clothing.

Speaking of which, his apparel had been changed from the tattered rags that had become of his original clothing. He now wore a black, short-sleeved shirt and pants with a lightning design throughout the back. His dark brown shoes, the only piece of his clothes that survived the bandit assault, were again on his feet, having been apparently cleaned beforehand. The bandage on his right arm was the only thing that remained betraying his current injury.

Holstering his weapons, he swallowed down the fear that had arisen in his heart for what he was about to do.

Think of it…a 9-year-old peasant refugee going off alone to fight in a battle that would decide the fate of the entire land? Injured, no less? It was ludicrous! And yet, he resolved to strike out and do it anyways.

What was his purpose? Who would know?

Regardless, he steeled his will…and ran out of the tent, startling his uncle and the guards that had been assigned by Liu Bei to guard him. Heading towards an opening in the fenced area(as the gate was closed), Ren Jiang's adrenaline skyrocketed, powering his drive to continue his current action. The guards began chasing after him with a cry of "Stop!" but were reproached when a commanding voice called out, "Halt! Leave him be." As it turns out, it was He Jin himself, the Grand Commander of the Imperial Army.

"But sir, we can't-" one of the guards began, but was interrupted by He Jin. "Humph. If he wants to go out there and get himself killed, then let him. That'll be one less nuisance we have to deal with." he said harshly, shocking the guards with his callousness towards the boy.

The boy in question, Ren Jiang, had already left the camp. However, he was close enough to hear He Jin's statement. His eyes slightly narrowed in anger. _'I was right…Fine then, you won't be seeing me again…at least, until this battle is over.' _he thought as he began his march of solitude, cradling his still-hurting right arm.

If only he knew just what he was getting himself into…

Notes

Alright! Another one bites the dust. Now, I know you're wondering just why the hell I'm sending a hurt 9-year-old to a full-fledged battle; just hold back before you start flaming me about it. I have a plan for this. Anyways, as I said, I'll be giving the ages for the main characters. Here they are, according to Dynasty Warriors, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and me. My other 'OC', Jin Zang, will become important later on.

Ren Jiang: 9  
>Liu Bei: 23<br>Guan Yu: 22  
>Zhang Fei: 16<br>Jin Zang: 20

This is KnightMan1890, signing off! R&R, please!


	3. The Yellow Turban Rebellion, Part I

Hello again, my peoples! This is KnightMan1890 with yet another edition of Chaos Reigns. The first battle finally begins! What will happen to Ren Jiang? Will he be discovered? Find out…

"speech"

'_thinking' _

(author's notes & comments)

((scene change))

previous chapter note

_flashback_

_**narration **_

(Last time on Chaos Reigns…)

The boy in question, Ren Jiang, had already left the camp. However, he was close enough to hear He Jin's statement. His eyes slightly narrowed in anger. 

'_I was right…Fine then, you won't be seeing me again…at least, until this battle is over.' _he thought as he began his march of solitude, cradling his still-hurting right arm. 

If only he knew just what he was getting himself into…

(And now…)

_**And so, Ren Jiang set off from the Han main camp, alone.**_

_**Unsure of what he truly plans to do, he follows only some strange instinct pushing him forward. He kept the information that his uncle was alive filed away for later, for he knew that now was not the time to dwell on it.**_

_**The boy truly had no idea of what this choice of action would bring…**_

(play DW7 BGM - "Pierce")

The battle had begun.

Already, bodies were dropping on both sides of the war. Liu Bei and his sworn brothers, having set off slightly later than the main army, had caught up and joined the battle as well.

However, Liu Bei seemed to be distracted as he battled against the Yellow Turbans. His brothers, noticing this, decided to address it. "You seem a little out of it, Brother. What's the matter?" he asked, cutting down a few soldiers that were near him. "The boy we rescued…Ren Jiang…It was a hard deal, getting the commander to allow him within our base. I'm worried the soldiers may get a little…unruly with him." Liu Bei answered, decapitating a Turban with a strike from one of his twin swords.

"Do not worry about him, Brother. No soldier would stoop as low as to harm a child." Guan Yu said, swinging his blade and knocking away a couple of enemies who attempted to block it. "Besides, he's not our problem right now. We'll worry about him once we get rid of these Yellow Turbans first!" Fei remarked, clearing the last of the enemies out of the area the three were in. "I guess you are right, Brothers…but…something makes me feel uneasy." Bei lamented, looking back in the direction of the Han main camp.

((Meanwhile, with Ren Jiang))

The object of the brothers' discussion was currently traveling through the far western pathway, having left the camp about a half hour ago. He took down the few Turban guards in his way with quick, precise strikes using his uninjured arm.

For some strange reason, he didn't feel any remorse in the killing, like before, which had frozen him with terror. He didn't revel in it, mind you, but he didn't feel as though he would puke at any moment.

Was it because he had already killed before, even if it was a in a fit of rage? Who knows?

In any case, he continued his trek of solitude, coming to an intersection in the pathway ahead of him. Deciding to continue forward, he suddenly stopped as he began hearing the telltale sounds of a marching army, quite a few of them, apparently.

Knowing he wouldn't be able to battle them if they were the enemy(or explain himself if they were allies), he hid, using the mountainous formation that laid on the side of the pathway that would have turned him left.

They turned out to be allies(or at least, non-Yellow Turbans), as they were wearing blue armor. There were many of them, the most soldiers the boy had ever seen in a single place, including the Han main camp he had left.

Out of the army men, three stood out the most, obviously the leaders as they looked the most unique. All three had black hair and predominately blue colored armor, but there were significant differences.

The one in the middle, apparently the commander of this army, was a man with a mustache slightly parted in the middle, and small goatee on his chin. His armor had golden imprints throughout. He wore long sleeves with bracers covering his forearms and wrists, along with dark blue pants and shoes under the torso and abdomen armor. His appearance was completed with the long cape flowing behind him and large golden sword in his hand as he rode on a stark black horse with golden plating on its head and legs.

The man on the left was more burly, having lighter colored armor with a metal bracer on the left forearm and a long black scarf hanging around his neck. He had a similar facial hair style with his hair tied into a small ponytail on his head, held together by a silver metal headband on his forehead. He carried a bow in his hand as he rode, a quiver strapped to his back.

The person on the right was in-between the other two in the category of body size, wearing his blue armor with silver being the major accent color. Like the second man, he had a parted mustache leading to a goatee on his chin. Like the first man, however, he also had a large sword in hand.

As the men lead their army, Ren Jiang could practically feel the confidence rolling from them in waves as he stayed in his hiding spot. _'Nice to know there are others besides that idiot commander fighting these guys.' _he thought, happy that Liu Bei and his brothers had aid in their endeavors.

However, the good feeling drained away quickly when a disembodied voice suddenly rang out for all to hear. "Foolish creatures of the Han, prepare to crushed to death under the power of the Yellow Turbans!" the voice echoed across the clearing, confusing all the listeners besides the three leading men.

'_H-Huh? Where did that voice come from?' _Ren wondered, looking around for the source. _'Atop the mountain?' _he thought.

Oh, there was _something _at the mountaintop…

It was indeed the speaker, standing atop some sort of structure. It appeared to be an altar of sorts. "Heavens, grant me a miracle! Lend us your strength as we fight in your name! Do away with these infidels!" he chanted, a strange but wild energy aura suddenly appearing around his form.

He continued his incantations, ready to give the enemy below a little surprise…

Oblivious to the enemy plan(for now), the leading men began conversing with each other.

"Well, cousin, it looks like they know we're coming. Any ideas?" the man on the left, the burliest one, asked. "Lord Cao Cao, we should keep going. The enemy is comprised of mere commoners. Whatever plan they may have won't be a match for us." the man on the right responded. "Perhaps you are right, but even commoners can be driven to drastic acts when backed into a corner." the man in the middle, Cao Cao, said.

'_Ain't that the truth…' _Ren thought, remembering the events that led him to this battle now.

"Regardless, we must move onward. Xiahou Dun, Xiahou Yuan, we shall continue the advance. Just be cautious." Cao Cao continued, addressing the man on the right, then the left, respectively.

As the army resumed the march, a strange rumbling noise was suddenly heard by the ears of those around. Momentarily stopping to search for the source, one soldier had just enough time to yell and point ahead of him towards the path ahead…

…before he was crushed by a giant boulder! It was a rockslide attack!

The army was quickly put into disarray, the giant rocks utterly crushing those unfortunate enough to be caught in their path. Cao Cao and his two cousins were forcing their horses to dodge the onslaught to the best of their ability, but even they were hard pressed to do so.

Ren Jiang, seeing that the army was in danger of a total wipeout, racked his brain for a way to help. He came up with one answer; ascend the cliffside and take out the ones dropping the rocks.

Seems easy enough, right? Wrong. There were several dangers to this course of action.

One was the height of the mountainside. It was extremely tall and steep, and to fall would almost certainly mean severe injury, if not death for the 9-year-old.

Two was the soldiers themselves. Obviously, he couldn't see the very top from where he was. There could be more enemies than just the ones dropping the rocks. He'd have to go it alone, so if there were too many, he'd be in serious trouble.

Three was the army on the ground level. They may be allies to his cause, but Ren Jiang was afraid they may not see him that way.

Despite being…occupied right now, should they notice him, one of two things would happen.

If he was an ally or bystander to them, the question of his age would come up, one that he wouldn't want to answer. If he was an enemy to them, well…let's not go into that, shall we?

There were plenty of reasons to simply turn and run, but the boy never let any of that linger in his mind. He had come this far now…he wanted to put his piece against the scourge of the land.

Despite his better instincts, he began to climb the mountain. (end song)

((25 minutes later; Mountaintop))

He must have been crazy to try it.

The mountain was as steep as it looked, and although it wasn't as tall as expected, that was made up for by how hard it was climbing it.

Ren Jiang was forced to use both arms to ascend the structure, and doing so nearly reopened the wound on his right arm, so he had to take it somewhat slowly(but not too slowly, as he would've fallen off).

There was one strange thing he noticed when he had reached the top, however…

There were some soldiers, a small amount and not too much worry, but it was the rocks that caught his attention. They weren't falling from the mountain or being pushed by the soldiers, no…

…they were literally appearing and dropping from the sky!

Utterly confused and awestruck, Ren Jiang barely had enough foresight to duck just before a sword coming through the air would've decapitated him.

Right, he had to deal with the soldiers first. He'd worry about the magic, falling rocks later.

Still in his ducking position, he kicked out the legs of the initial attacker and stabbed him through the stomach with his sword. The others, attempting to use the distraction, circled around the boy and surrounded him.

Seemingly running on pure instinct, the boy gathered his wits, getting into a ready position and waiting for the enemies to make the first move.

Growing impatient, one of the Yellow Turbans decided to attack, going for an overhead smash with his club. Rather than try to block it, the boy dodged and repeated his stab attack. Going on the offensive, he took out his dagger and sliced open the neck of one of the remaining soldiers.

Seeing their partners down, the 7 who were left all moved in at once. Slashing the sword in a wide arc(much like he saw Guan Yu do before), the boy took down the enemies, varying degrees of injury on their now dead bodies depending on where the hit was.

Again, the boy's eyes had unconsciously bled into a crimson red color. For what reason and as to why he didn't notice, there was only uncertainty(for now).

Perhaps that was why he refrained from showing any emotion in his facial expression as he moved towards the large, wooden structure that he could currently see. _'An altar? Do these guys use some sort of magic?' _he thought, seeing that as the only explanation for the boulders literally falling from the sky.

Once he reached the peak of the altar(which wasn't that far away from the cliffside), he saw a man performing some kind of incantation. The man, seeming to sense the foreign presence, turned around to face him. "Who dares defile this sacred altar?" he yelled out, drawing a sword from his waist and pointing it towards the boy.

'_So, these guys do perform sorcery…pretty well at that. I'd better be careful.' _"Are you the one creating those rocks down there?" Ren asked, readying for a fight. "Yes. I am Zhang Liang, the General of the People and brother of the Great Teacher! Who are you that stands against us?" the man asked, realizing immediately that the boy in front of him was armed and could be a potential enemy. "My name is Ren Jiang, and I'm here to get back at you Yellow Turbans for destroying my home!" the boy answered.

Almost immediately, he wondered where the outburst had come from. Was his only desire for revenge? Were his actions that led him here driven only out of a hidden resentment towards these people? He was brought out of his thoughts by the man beginning to speak again.

"And a mere boy such as you plans to stop us? How laughable! You know nothing of the power of the Yellow Turbans! Suffer our divine wrath!" Zhang Liang cried as an electric aura appeared around him.

Sensing danger, the crimson-eyed boy quickly rolled to the left, just in time to dodge…a lightning bolt that shot forth from the man's hands! It struck the ground where he was, leaving a small burn mark.

Unfortunately, he didn't have the time to evade the wind blade that came with it, as he only heard the sound of the air traveling with the bolt. It cut into his right arm, making him cry out loudly, as it hit the old wound and cut open the bandages, revealing the scar that had turned an angry red with the applied pressure.

"Hah! Was that too much for you? Do not worry, it will all be over soon!" the man declared, charging a powerful lightning shot in order to finish the boy off.

Fighting through the pain, Ren Jiang charged forth with a loud yell, shocking Zhang Liang, who was still in mid-charge. The boy ran him through the chest with his sword, hitting his heart. "T-This can't be…H-How…could this have happened…? Defeated…by a mere boy…" he lamented, spitting out globs of blood with each break in words. "You lost because you underestimated me, severely." the boy responded coldly. "Curses…you damned child…" Liang spat out.

These were to be his dying words as Ren Jiang yanked out the impaled weapon, allowing him to collapse to the ground, his aura evaporating.

Staring at the man's corpse, the boy felt a surge of remorse as his eyes returned to their normal blue hue. He only fought against the Yellow Turbans because of the clashing beliefs between them. In a different world, he dare thought that he may have joined the Yellow Turbans' cause.

'_I have more than enough reason to simply turn back and simply run away…but…I just can't. I've come too far now. I need to find this Great Teacher of theirs…and maybe give him a piece of my mind when I do.' _he thought, descending the steps of the altar. _'But first…' _

Nearing the cliffside he had originally climbed up on, the boy noticed that the rocks had finally stopped falling, the sorcery dissipated. The army below, seizing the opportunity, had already started to regroup.

Without really thinking, the boy let out a loud whistle, catching the attention of the men on the ground.

((with Cao Cao's forces))

The assault had suddenly stopped as quickly as it had begun. Despite not knowing the cause, Cao Cao and his forces were planning to take advantage of it.

As they reorganized the troops, they suddenly heard a loud whistle ring throughout the clearing. Knowing that it could possibly be a signal for a secondary attack, they got on their guard while searching for the source.

Xiahou Yuan, the expert marksman that he is, was the first to find it. Scanning the top of the mountain next to their position, he saw a very young, silver-haired boy standing there. "Hey, up there! Who's that?" he yelled to the others, pointing at the boy, who looked surprised for a second, but afterwards, jerked his head towards the way forward, as if telling them…the path was clear! "Yuan, what is it?" Xiahou Dun asked, following his outstretched arm. "I think our little buddy here is telling us to go on ahead. The way should be clear." Yuan answered.

"Then, we mustn't waste the chance that has been given to us. Resume the march!" Cao Cao ordered, the army beginning to move once again.

The boy they saw had already disappeared.

((with Ren Jiang))

The boy wasn't sure as to whyhe had done that. His plan was to _not _garner attention from the others. Most would say it was to let them know that the path was clear and the way to go was here. But, wouldn't they have realized that already when the rocks stopped?

Perhaps it was a call for attention, subconscious or otherwise. Although having gone through much in his young life as of late, Ren Jiang was still a child, and as such, maybe he just wanted recognition, as many children do, whether they notice or not.

In any case, the job here was done, and it was time to move on…

…to face the next challenge.

Notes

And another one is down. Eventually, I will start having filler chapters I call interludes. They will basically be a chapter of nothing but narration explaining the plotline throughout long breaks between major battles.

The Yellow Turban Rebellion will be split into several chapters, this one being the first. And before you say anything, I know Cao Cao's forces dealt with the violent winds, not the rockslide(at least, in DW5). Just bear with me on all that, please.

Anyways, the weekend is here, so another chappie should be up before it's over.

Here are the ages for the major characters. Since the ones for Ren Jiang and the sworn brothers haven't changed, I'll just give you the ones for the new people introduced here. If I don't know the ages of someone(meaning that I can't find them in either the Koei games or the Internet), then the number will just be marked with a "?".

Cao Cao: 29  
>Xiahou Dun: ?<br>Xiahou Yuan: ?

KnightMan1890, signing off! R&R, please!


	4. The Yellow Turban Rebellion, Part II

It's me, KnightMan1890, once again. Last time, Ren Jiang faced and defeated the magic of Zhang Liang, meeting the forces of Cao Cao and his cousins in the process. Now, the Yellow Turban battle continues with a new fight in store for our young hero. Enjoy!

Now that I'm starting to get reviews, I'll be addressing them on the actual chapters from now onwards.

_Snook24_ - _**Thanks for the reviews, constructive criticism, etc. The script format I use is mainly for organizing my thoughts on who's doing what. That, however, will most likely be changed soon. Sorry about some character ages not matching their descriptions. I just go with what Dynasty Warriors 7 portrays them as, regardless of age. I'll try mixing it up later on. As for the title of the story, I agree with you. I think if the story was called "Evanescence", it wouldn't be as long as I'm planning on making this. Something like "Rise Through Chaos" would be better, eh? Again, thanks! Your thoughts and reviews are appreciated! **_

"speech"

'_thinking' _

(author's notes & comments)

((scene change))

previous chapter note

_**responses to reviews **_

_flashback_

_**narration **_

(Last time on Chaos Reigns…)

The boy wasn't sure as to whyhe had done that. His plan was to _not _garner attention from the others. Most would say it was to let them know that the path was clear and the way to go was here. But, wouldn't they have realized that already when the rocks stopped?

Perhaps it was a call for attention, subconscious or otherwise. Although having gone through much in his young life as of late, Ren Jiang was still a child, and as such, maybe he just wanted recognition, as many children do, whether they notice or not.

In any case, the job here was done, and it was time to move on…

…to face the next challenge. 

(And now…)

_**Through an outstanding show of skill and power for one his age, Ren Jiang has single-handedly killed the sorcerer, Zhang Liang, and saved Cao Cao's forces from a magically-generated rockslide. **_

_**Advancing forward, our young hero will soon face another situation…**_

What the hell just happened?

This is what the boy thought as his senses were distorted from the experience he had just gone through.

((flashback; a few minutes ago))

_Having defeated Zhang Liang and signaled the men in blue that the way ahead was clear, Ren Jiang continued along the path from the mountain top, not bothering to attempt to climb back down. _

_As he walked, he became lost in thought. For some odd reason, his recent memories, even of this battle, had been somewhat blurred. Usually, he felt some bout of anger or surge of adrenaline, then the image was static and only showed bits and pieces of him killing the enemies who were in his way. Disregarding it as the magnitude of his deeds(as in, coming out here all alone) and the heat of the battle getting to him, he shrugged it off as he continued._

_Looking down from the cliffside, he saw the two armies battling it out, soldier after soldier falling to the blade. Although the Han forces were steadily gaining ground, he couldn't help but feel remorseful about the loss of life. A good cause it may have been for the Han, but the Yellow Turbans, in his opinion, were just a group of misguided people led by an overzealous leader. (much like what Liu Bei told him…strange, no?)_

_Not 15 minutes later, however, he came to yet another intersecting path. Left, right, and behind him was clear, but…_

_He was focused on the way forward._

_All he could see were Yellow Turban soldiers. They covered the entire path ahead. As far as he could see, they were all in a guarding or ready position, like a cobra coiled and waiting for someone to come too close._

_Obviously, it was too late for Ren Jiang to find a place to hide, as he must've been in the view of at least half of them, if not more. The strange thing was…_

_Why weren't they moving? Was it because they didn't see the boy as a threat, or was it that they had a plan, much like before with Zhang Liang? _

_In any case, the boy was too petrified with fear to do anything about it. The idea to use his crossbow briefly crossed his mind, but it was squashed at the following thought of how many there were. If he took one down, the others would attack. He could only handle so many; a force of that size would kill him within seconds. He was too scared to think of the side pathways as an escape route, wondering if someone would attack him should he try to run. _

_So, he merely stood there, like a deer in the headlights, waiting for whatever they were trying to do to happen. His silent thoughts were answered when a disembodied voice, different from Zhang Liang's, was suddenly heard._

"_God of the winds, grant me your strength, so that I may keep my people safe from harm!" the voice cried out._

'_Again? They have another sorcerer? What could it be this…wait, he said "god of the winds"!' Ren Jiang thought, figuring out what the plan was with the thought finally occurring to him to try and run._

_Unfortunately, it was too late._

_The moment he began to move, an enormous wind suddenly burst forth from nowhere, the direction showing that it originated from somewhere beyond this pathway. The soldiers now took the opportunity to charge forth, the gales pushing them forward at an extremely rapid pace. _

_Ren Jiang braced himself as best he could, but it was all for naught, as his small body couldn't fight the force of nature and was blown back down the way he had come. _

_The force of the blowback made the boy's body hop and skip across the ground before coming to a screeching halt against a hard structure, namely a large rock. The impact made him hack out a bit of blood as his vision began to fade. _

_The last thing he saw was the Yellow Turban soldiers charging down, and a new army coming up to meet them in battle. _

'_Well, I was waiting for something to happen, and I sure got it…' That was his last, sardonic thought before succumbing to unconsciousness. _

((flashback end; play DW7 BGM - "Isolation"))

Things weren't looking so good.

This was on the mind of Sun Jian, general of the Han army, as he and his forces fought against the onslaught of Yellow Turbans.

Normally, his men had no trouble dealing the peasant troops of the enemy army, but they were thrown into disarray by the sudden winds that had appeared in their path, and the Yellow Turbans were using it to their advantage.

Unable to advance at a decent pace, Sun Jian, his loyal officer, Huang Gai, and his young son, Sun Ce, were in a tight spot.

Speaking of Sun Ce, he had found a young boy, roughly his own age, lying next to a rock. He was hurt and battered, assumedly from the wind barrier that had shown up, and had a little blood seeping from small lacerations on his body. Seeing that he was beginning to awaken with a slight groan, Sun Ce turned his attention away from the battle for a moment. "Hey, are you okay?" he asked the awakening child as he stirred.

Opening his eyes(and immediately being assaulted by the sounds of a battle near him), Ren Jiang saw a young boy, about his age, kneeling over him.

He was nearly covered in a predominately red and black armor, the only part of his bare body being shown was the section of his arms from the shoulder to the elbow. On the forearms were red bracers with black gloves on the hands. A red cloak of sorts formed a sash around his torso and abdomen, ending with a sectioned portion of it hanging double-sided from the waist. His face was extremely young, betraying his age with no facial hair to be seen. His eyes were a dark brown(I think), and had in them what looked to be a drive for adventure and action. He also saw that he wielded what looked to be a pair of tonfas.

Using the rock for support, Ren Jiang hoisted himself up as best he could, the boy giving his aid by pushing him up by the shoulder. Once he was on his feet, he quickly scanned the area, seeing various men with red armor battling against the Yellow Turbans. The wind was howling, but although he could feel it, he could tell is wasn't pushing him away as harshly as it was before, most likely because he was further away. Seeing him starting to space out, the other boy tapped him on the arm to get his attention.

"Hey there, anyone home? My name's Sun Ce, what's yours?" he asked loud and boisterously, putting out hand to shake. Ren Jiang blinked, lightly stunned at the outgoing nature of the boy. "My name is Ren Jiang, nice to meet you, Sun Ce." he responded, shaking the outstretched hand. Sun Ce's smile grew as Ren Jiang looked around once again, his eyes widening at the realization that there was a battle raging around him! (kids, they're distracted easily, no?) "Getting to know each other will have to wait, Sun Ce. In case you haven't noticed, there's a battle going on right next to us." he said. "Oh, right! Come on, let's go!" Sun Ce replied, charging off to the nearest enemies. Lightly shaking his head, Ren Jiang looked towards the other army members. (please don't grill me on the absent-mindedness of these two; remember, they are still kids)

He saw a man on a white horse wielding a moderately-sized broadsword. He had black hair with a light amount of noticeable facial hair showing on his chin. He wore armor much like Sun Ce's in color and style, the major differences being the collar of the top coming upwards like a jacket and the long red cape flowing behind him.

Another man of note was a burly one with a mound of black hair on his head styled into a small mohawk. The rest of it circled his head, forming a moderate beard at the chin and curled up above the mouth to make a mustache. What hair was left was made into a long ponytail which hung loosely behind him. He had the physique of a wrestler, strong with his muscles showing clearly as his armor didn't hide much of the skin on his arms and legs. He wore a sash-like outfit, golden straps buckling the top part together. The actual armor was mainly on the shoulder plates and arm bracers. On his waist was a long, tiger-striped band held there by a gold band with an animal-faced buckle. He had plain gray shorts going only halfway to his knees and large bracers covering from below the knees to the ankles, where they connected to the brown sandals that he had on. This man wielded a large metal…club-looking weapon as he batted away and smashed the enemies in his path.

Not wanting to be distracted for too long three times(as the first time nearly cost him his life), Ren Jiang cleared his head and got down to work, following after Sun Ce.

((Timeskip; nearly an hour later))

They had been fighting at this same area for too long now. How in the world the enemy still had soldiers to spare was mind-boggling. Sun Jian and his forces still hadn't gained any ground. Too much longer, and they would be wiped out.

Enough was enough. Something had to be done, but what?

Backing off for a second to catch their breath, the two boys looked around, searching for a way to deal with this threat.

"Hey, Ren, over there!" Sun Ce suddenly yelled out, pointing towards a seemingly random direction as Ren Jiang tried to follow where he was looking. "What do you mean, Sun Ce? All I see is a bunch of rock formations." he answered, slightly confused. "No, in the middle, there's a cliff!" he continued. Ren Jiang used the direction and saw what Sun Ce was talking about, a tall cliff with strange protrusions coming off of it, much like…stairs! At the top was an extra pathway. "Okay, I see it, Sun Ce." "Should we tell the others?" Sun Ce asked.

"No," Ren Jiang answered after a few seconds. "if too many start to leave, the Yellow Turbans will know we're up to something. We ought to just get going." he relented, heading in the direction of the cliffside. Sun Ce followed immediately afterwards.

The two didn't notice, but the start of their venture had alerted Sun Jian, the commander of this army. _'The boy woke up, huh? Hmm…? Where could they be going?' _he asked to himself, cutting down a soldier in his way. Following the path of their movements, he saw what they had seen. _'Ah, a side route. A good plan. But, why would they go alone?' _Idly looking upwards, he also saw what the two boys hadn't noticed…

There was a separate troop of soldiers waiting at the top of the mountain along the side pathway, waiting for someone to come close. And that someone would be the two boys!

Barely managing to keep calm, he ordered his retainer, Huang Gai, over to him. "Yes, my lord?" the burly man asked. "Follow my boy and his young friend. They're going to be facing some trouble soon. I'll hold off the rest of these Turbans." Sun Jian answered. "At once, my lord." With that, he was off, a small portion(only several soldiers) of the force they had following him. _'Please keep those boys safe, Huang Gai.' _he thought as he prepared to engage the enemy once again.

((Meanwhile, with Ren Jiang and Sun Ce))

This meant trouble.

The two boys found themselves surrounded when the Yellow Turbans had sprung an ambush. Encircled and back-to-back with Sun Ce, Ren Jiang was silently cursing for not allowing him to ask for help. Speaking of his new friend, he was mildly put down at what was happening, but mostly, he was pumped up for what looked to be a good fight. "Great, now what do we do?" Ren Jiang asked his partner, who simply smiled and responded, "What does it look like? We fight! This should be fun!" he declared, ready to start the battle anew. Ren Jiang shook his head at his friend's demeanor and got ready as well.

Launching into the fray, Sun Ce was the first to attack with a blow to the stomach of two of the Turbans, downing them. Ren Jiang followed with a slash to the back of one who tried assaulting Sun Ce from behind. "Thanks, partner!" Sun Ce said, turning around and returning the favor by knocking down a Turban who had snuck up behind Ren Jiang. "No problem, and thank you, too." he said as the two got back-to-back once again.

Being defensive this time, Ren Jiang blocked the slash of an enemy and rammed his sword through his stomach, yanking it out soon afterwards. Sun Ce followed this action by hitting the now dead man with both tonfas, knocking him into some of the other enemies around.

Ren Jiang felt a visceral pleasure fighting side-by-side with Sun Ce here. Despite being a child, the thrill of the battle(along with his friend's boisterous demeanor), proved too much for him, as a smirk grew on his face at the sight of more enemies. Much like before, his adrenaline running high, his eyes once again melded into the stark crimson color.

The remaining soldiers surrounded the two a second time, and were about to attack when a battle cry was heard. "HRAAH!"

Wondering where it came from, a soldier looked up and cried, "Look out!", but it was too late…

…to stop the man who literally dropped in on top of him, smashing him with the club-like weapon he wielded. "Hey! Old man!" Sun Ce called out, apparently recognizing the man who had just appeared, followed by a several red-wearing soldiers who took down the rest of the Yellow Turban ambush with ease. "Aw man, and I was just getting warmed up!" Sun Ce said, pouting slightly. Smirking a little, Ren Jiang turned to the new arrival. It was the large, burly man he had seen.

"And just what were you two hoping to accomplish out here all alone?" he asked, a stern look on his face. Swallowing down the slight fear from his mind, Ren Jiang answered. "We found a side route, and we figured it would lead us around the wind tunnel back there." he said, pointing at the cliff. "And why did you tell no one about this plan of yours?" the man continued. "Because, if everyone left, then the enemy would know we were up to something." Ren Jiang explained.

After a few moments of pondering, Huang Gai relented. "Very well. You had at least a decent reason, so I'll let it go, this time. Just don't do that again, understand?" "We got it, old man." Sun Ce answered. "Humph. Fine. We should get going, youngsters. Don't fall behind." he ended as he and the other soldiers moved out. "Come on, Ren Jiang! We can't let them get ahead of us!" Sun Ce said, running off after them. "No, I suppose we can't." Ren Jiang said to himself as he took off after him.

((Timeskip; cliff's peak))

Luckily, there hadn't been anymore enemy troops to deal with as the small force made its way to the alternate path. The cliff was high, much higher than what had to be scaled when Zhang Liang was around. Fortunately, Ren Jiang had the aid of Sun Ce and Huang Gai as they climbed the stairwell-like protrusions jutting out from the cliff.

Making it to the top quickly, they saw that the alternate pathway was completely barren of enemy troops. A second ambush would've appeared already. Continuing onward, they saw that the road led to a sheer drop, one just as large as how far they had to climb to get up there.

Much like with Zhang Liang, there was an altar with a man performing some sort of incantations on it. Unlike Zhang Liang, however, there were plenty of guards stationed around the altar, much more than the unit felt like fighting without support. The force stopped to think of a plan to deal with this.

"So, what do you think we should do?" Ren Jiang asked, wondering about a course of action to take. "Let's just go down there and take 'em out! We're more than enough." Sun Ce responded, drawing a negative shake of the head from Huang Gai, who said, "Too reckless. While that would be possible, it would also be too risky. We need this attack to be covert." "Then, how about this?" Ren Jiang asked, readying his bow and arrow. "Perfect." Huang Gai answered. "Alright, we'll do it your way." Sun Ce relented. "Don't worry, Sun Ce. There's plenty more fight to be had before the Yellow Turbans are finished." he said, aiming to the best of his ability from such a distance.

He fired…

…and the arrow found its mark.

One lone soldier had just enough time to yell out, "Lord Zhang Bao!", drawing the sorcerer's attention and unknowingly sealing his fate. Turned around, the arrow had a much easier time burying itself within the man's neck.

"Heavens…what have I done to draw your scorn…?" the man lamented before falling to the ground, dead.

"Nice shot!" Sun Ce said to Ren Jiang, who merely smiled back, rubbing the back of his head.

((with Sun Jian))

The winds had stopped completely.

The Yellow Turbans, confused at this sudden turn of events, fell into disarray, realizing that the sorcery had either been halted, or the caster was dead.

Sun Jian's men, seizing this chance, charged through, their morale reinvigorated.

Reaching the top of the path several minutes later, Sun Jian caught the visages of his son, retainer, and the young boy they had found atop the alternate pathway. _'Great job, you three.' _he thought as he gave a loud whistle, catching their attention.

((with Ren Jiang, Sun Ce, and Huang Gai))

The three heard the whistle, finding that Sun Jian and the rest of his men had cleared the pathway, the sorcery gone. Some of the men went over to the base of the side pathway's end, setting up a ladder for their allies to climb down on.

Reaching the bottom, the unit was greeted by a slightly smiling Sun Jian. "Good work, you three. The path to Zhang Jiao is near. I see you have awakened, young one." he said, turning to address Ren Jiang. "Did you enjoy your little venture with my son here?" he asked, gesturing to Sun Ce. "As a matter of fact, I did, sir. Glad to be of service." Ren Jiang responded with a slight bow, causing Sun Jian to chuckle heartily. "No need for all of the formality, my boy. Just call me Sun Jian. This is my officer, Huang Gai." he said, gesturing to the burly man that had helped with the ambush.

"Hey, dad, do you think Ren Jiang can stay with us? It was awesome teaming up with him back there!" Sun Ce said, making Sun Jian smile at the fact that his son had gained a kinship with one his own age. "Maybe, Ce, but only if he wishes to." he answered. "Please, Ren Jiang? We can have some great fun fighting together!" Sun Ce nearly pleaded, hoping the boy would say yes.

Thinking of the admittedly short time he had spent with these people, the first natural instinct was to say no, but…

They had helped him, fought with him when they could've simply looked the other way. That alone was enough reason for Ren Jiang's answer to be, "Yeah, I'll stay with you." he answered, smiling. "Alright!" Sun Ce cried joyfully, giving Ren Jiang a "bro-hug".

As the two separated, the young peasant refugee couldn't help but think…It was almost time to meet the leader of all the Yellow Turbans.

Notes

And so ends that chapter. No idea if there'll be another one this weekend since Easter is tomorrow, and I know my folks will try their hardest to get me to church. I'll try my best.

Anyways, here're the ages for major characters.

Sun Jian: 29  
>Sun Ce: 9<br>Huang Gai: 39

Yes, I brought another 9-year-old into the battle, please don't flame me. Anyways, if you're wondering why Sun Quan and Sun Shang Xiang don't appear, it's because of the year this fight is in. Sun Quan is only 2 years old, and Sun Shang Xiang won't be born for another 5 years, so there's that.

KnightMan1890, signing off! R&R, please!


	5. Road to the Final Battle

What's up? KnightMan1890 is back with another chappie for your interests. As you can see, the title has been changed. Last time, our hero had faced the power of the wind and come out on top, thanks to the aid of Sun Jian and his forces. He also gained a friend in Sun Jian's son, Sun Ce. Now, the Han army is poised to finish off the Yellow Turbans once and for all. What will Ren Jiang do when he runs into Liu Bei and his brothers again? Find out…

"speech"

'_thinking' _

(author's notes & comments)

((scene change))

previous chapter note

_**responses to reviews **_

_flashback_

_**narration **_

(Last time on Chaos Reigns…)

"Hey, dad, do you think Ren Jiang can stay with us? It was awesome teaming up with him back there!" Sun Ce said, making Sun Jian smile at the fact that his son had gained a kinship with one his own age. "Maybe, Ce, but only if he wishes to." he answered. "Please, Ren Jiang? We can have some great fun fighting together!" Sun Ce nearly pleaded, hoping the boy would say yes. 

Thinking of the admittedly short time he had spent with these people, the first natural instinct was to say no, but…

They had helped him, fought with him when they could've simply looked the other way. That alone was enough reason for Ren Jiang's answer to be, "Yeah, I'll stay with you." he answered, smiling. "Alright!" Sun Ce cried joyfully, giving Ren Jiang a "bro-hug". 

As the two separated, the peasant refugee couldn't help but think…It was almost time to meet the leader of all the Yellow Turbans. 

(And now…)

_**With the aid of the forces led by Sun Jian, Huang Gai, and his new partner, Sun Ce, Ren Jiang was able to kill Zhang Bao, another sorcerer on the side of the Yellow Turbans. **_

_**Now the stage is set to finish the battle with the Yellow Turbans. What will happen to our young hero and his newfound allies?**_

(play DW7 BGM - "Crush 'em All")

The time had finally come.

Hearing of the various armies' respective victories against the Yellow Turbans, He Jin ordered a full-scale attack. The men were quick to oblige, morale at an all-time high with the multiple successes against the enemy.

Cao Cao's forces were the first to start the all-out advance, having had plenty of time to recover from the rockslide attack against them. Cao Cao himself, however, was currently lost in thought. It was about what he and his troops had found just after the rockslide assault.

((flashback))

_Cao Cao and his forces had arrived at the peak of the mountain from which they were just attacked fiercely by the enemy. Looking around, they saw several corpses of Yellow Turban soldiers, the wounds showing that they had been killed by either a stab or a slash, most likely from a sword, including the leader, the man who was on the altar._

'_So, these Yellow Turbans use a manner of sorcery, do they? Humph. Well, that was apparently no match for whomever fought them. But, that leaves the question of who. Xiahou Yuan said that at the top of the mountain, he had seen a young boy, who had given the signal saying that the path ahead was clear. Was he the one to do all this?' he wondered to himself, his army still marching towards the Yellow Turbans' main base._

'_Hmm…I believe I should meet this boy for myself. He may become useful in the advance of my plans.' _

((flashback end))

Meanwhile, with Liu Bei and his brothers, a very interesting rumor had reached their ears.

((flashback, again))

_Having merged with the main Han unit, Liu Bei and his volunteer forces responded to the order for the all-out attack and set off immediately. Along the way, however, Liu Bei overheard a very…informative conversation._

"_Hey, did you hear the rumor?" One guard asked another. "No, what about?" the second man asked back. "About the reports that a little kid had been found on the front lines!" _

_That got Liu Bei's attention extremely quickly, snapping his head to face the two conversing so fast, you'd think his neck snapped. Hoping that the bad feeling he got in his gut wasn't from what he thought it was, he continued listening, making sure he got all of the information before jumping to conclusions. _

"_A little kid? As in, how old?" the second man asked, not believing that a child would be out on the battlefield. "About 9 or 10, why? Wait…you don't think…" "Yeah, that kid Liu Bei brought in ran away from the main camp a long time ago, and he took a few weapons with him. Maybe that's him." _

_Having heard enough(and realizing what that bad feeling at the beginning of the battle was about), Liu Bei walked up to the grand commander, He Jin, who was leading the army himself. "Did Ren Jiang run away from the main camp?" he asked. "You mean that kid you took in? Yes, he left just as the battle had started." he answered, not really caring. "And you and your men just let him leave all alone?" Liu Bei asked as his voice began to rise, unbelieving at the situation. "Of course. He would have been merely a hindrance otherwise. I can't waste time and manpower over a little homeless peasant." he responded coldly. "How dare you…!" Liu Bei began to yell, but he was soon reproached as He Jin glared at him. "Is there a problem? I suggest you watch your tone, or I'll have you imprisoned for insubordination." he said angrily, deflating Liu Bei's anger somewhat. _

_He would've continued his argument, but considering that He Jin's sister was the Empress-to-be(I think, she might already be), he could easily go through with his threat. "Very well, I apologize for my outburst." Liu Bei said, although not really meaning it. He Jin didn't catch this, however, and simply smirked. "Good." _

_Liu Bei, relaying the information to his brothers soon afterwards, couldn't help but worry about their Ren Jiang's safety, and curse the natures of the Han army, that most likely being what drove him away in the first place. "Such callousness towards the people…I can almost sympathize with why the Yellow Turbans have revolted so…a pity that they went about it in the wrong way." he lamented. _

"_The Han brings shame to its honor through these acts, showing contempt and a lack of caring towards the common folk." Guan Yu said in response to Liu Bei's obtained info. "Yeah, how could they just send a little kid to the dogs like that?" Zhang Fei responded, angry at how the Han troops acted towards their young friend. "My brothers, what should we do about this? Ren Jiang may be in serious danger, out on the front lines like that…" he asked forlornly. "We shall find him. If he is on the front lines as you say, then we should locate him as we go to eliminate the last of these rebels." Guan Yu answered. Zhang Fei nodded in response, looking towards the eldest brother. "Very well, we will continue onward." Liu Bei relented. 'Please…stay safe out there…' he thought, hoping he would find the boy soon._

((flashback end))

Zhang Jiao, the leader of all the Yellow Turbans, furrowed his brow as he thought of the progress that had been made against his forces so far.

The Han had not succumbed as he had hoped they would. His forces were being beaten back, and the enemy force was surging forward at an accelerated pace. Worst of all, both of his brothers had been slain in battle, as he had felt the connection he had to them disappear.

During his meditation, a soldier came up to him with an urgent report. "Great Teacher, the Han army has begun an all-out attack, and is on their way here! What shall we do?" the man asked, worried at this turn of events. The news was met with cries from the other Turbans, such as "Help us, Great Teacher!", and "Protect us from the Han infidels!"

The pleading was silenced when Zhang Jiao suddenly opened his eyes and released a burst of magical energy, blanketing the area and calming the soldiers around. He began to levitate, surrounding himself in a fiery-yellow aura. "You must fear not, my children! We shall rebuild the land and do away with these foolish remnants of the Han! I shall lead my people to glorious victory!" he declared, causing the soldiers to erupt in cheers.

It was time to settle the score with the Han for good…

((meanwhile, with Sun Jian's forces))

Oblivious to all of this, Ren Jiang was still traveling along with Sun Jian, Sun Ce, Huang Gai, and their forces, heading towards the Yellow Turban main camp.

A pit of anxiety had arisen in Ren Jiang's body as he thought of the final battle ahead. What would happen? The two generals were dead, but the commander wouldn't go down so easily. What would it be like, confronting the leader of the men who had destroyed his home village? Would he lose himself to anger? Would he be defeated? All of the questions and what-ifs circled around in Ren Jiang's mind, threatening to overwhelm him.

Luckily, his new friend, Sun Ce, decided to break him from his thoughts. "Hey, Ren Jiang, you okay?" he asked, noticing his friend looked to be lost in thought. "Hmm? Yeah, I'm fine, Sun Ce." he responded, still thinking. "Come on, cheer up! This fight's just getting good! We'll take down that Zhang Jiao guy, no sweat!" he said. "Yeah…I guess you're right." Ren Jiang answered, a small smile on his face at his friend's attitude in the face of the battle.

Looking around, he noticed that the army had reached a tripartite intersecting path, and that they were on the right side. On the left one, he saw that the men in blue had arrived as well. In the middle, the main force of the Han appeared along with the volunteer army, led by Liu Bei and his sworn brothers.

Ren Jiang tried his best to shield his eyes from the middle force, as he didn't want Liu Bei or his brothers to discover that he had come all the way out here. There was no problem with that, as everyone was focused on the practical sea of enemies in the front pathway, leading up to a large altar…

…where the leader, Zhang Jiao himself, was shown for all to see, as he was levitating several feet from the air.

"The time has come, my children! The end of the Han has finally arrived!" he yelled as the Turbans burst into cheers. "Now, baffle the fools with an invincible opponent!" he declared, waving his staff in a caster-like motion.

Nothing happened after a few seconds, the Turbans becoming eerily silent, and the Han was wondering just what was going on. Suddenly, screams were heard through the clearing, coming from their side of the two armies.

Looking to find the source, the Han forces saw several of their own men being cut down by the enemy, but the strange part was that the enemy troops were transparent, able to be seen through. Also, when a Han soldier attempted to strike one of them, the weapon merely passed through the Turban's body, apparently not harming him at all. Turning around, the odd enemy stabbed the Han member, killing him.

When cries began erupting from the other side of the army, various people turned to see what the new, new threat was. These weird enemy soldiers were completely invisible, the only thing signifying their presence being a small dust trail that followed their movements. However, when one was struck, it turned a strange purple color and suddenly _exploded _a few seconds afterwards, killing the soldier who had hit it.

Shock and confusion rippled through the Han forces. An enemy who couldn't be hurt, but could do the deed to others? It was outrageous! But, the proof was right there in front of them, and the truth couldn't hurt any more than it did right now.

"Now, my children!" the brazen healer yelled. "Attack and crush these wretched vermin!" he ordered, the Turbans obliging quickly and charging forth.

'_Oh crap…' _was the thought on the minds of many a Han army member as the two forces began to clash for the last time.

((Timeskip; 15 minutes later))

It was pandemonium.

The Yellow Turbans quickly took advantage of the distraction caused by the sudden attack from the now-known phantom soldiers, and began their assault. The Han forces were hard pressed, as some men were giving in to their own fears, and could no longer differentiate between the real enemies and the apparitions.

Throughout it all, the major armies mainly stayed in their own respective 'zones', separated between Cao Cao's men, Sun Jian's, Liu Bei's, and He Jin's.

The major Han generals, unlike the common troops, refused to back down or be afraid. Cao Cao and Xiahou Dun slashed through several of the transparent phantoms in order to hit the real soldiers standing behind them, and Xiahou Yuan, exploiting this flaw, was picking off enemies with his bow.

Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei were mainly avoiding the phantoms altogether, seeing as they couldn't be harmed, and focused their attacks on the real enemies.

That left Sun Jian's forces to fight the 'dust' phantoms. Sun Jian himself, along with Huang Gai, used their strength to knock the exploding spirits away, making sure they harmed neither them nor their allies. Ren Jiang and Sun Ce, using their small size and subsequent agility, avoided the blasts while hitting the true Turbans mixed within.

However, Ren Jiang was separated when a lone club-wielding soldier assaulted him with a cry of "Lord Zhang Bao shall be avenged!" The man swung his weapon in a baseball-like fashion, forcing Ren Jiang to block with his sword. Although avoiding serious injury, the force of the blow was enough to send the boy into the dirt a few feet away, landing near where Liu Bei's forces were fighting. "Ren!" Sun Ce yelled out, seeing his friend on the ground.

Zhang Fei, being the closet to the two and hearing the cry, knocked away the soldiers fighting him and immediately moved to protect the downed boy. Quickly dispatching the enemies attempting to attack him, he hoisted the boy to his feet. "You alright, kid?" he asked, the boy nodding to his question. "Just what are you doing out here, anyway?" Ren was about to answer, but Zhang Fei suddenly turned and swung his blade, downing a couple of soldiers who were charging at them. "I'll explain later. I'm here now, and that's all that matters." the boy answered. "I would normally tell you to leave, but you've already made it this far. Well, whatever. Come on, Brother and Yu are over there." he said, pointing to where they were fighting.

"Hey! I found the kid!" Zhang Fei called out to the other two brothers, he and Ren Jiang running over to them. Catching their attention, Liu Bei gasped in surprise when he saw the boy. "Ren Jiang, you're safe!" he said, bringing him into an embrace. "L-Lord Liu Bei, I…" he stuttered, flustered at Liu Bei's action and unable to make a full response. "Don't worry, I understand your reasoning. I admit that, even given the circumstances, I personally may not have had the courage to do what you did." he said with a light smile. "I-I'm sorry, Lord Liu Bei, it's just…the Han soldiers, they…" the boy started, but was cut off. "I know. I spoke with the commander, and I realize why you did it. It's okay." Liu Bei continued, trying to set the boy at ease. Guan Yu contributed his piece with, "You did what your heart and mind told you to. We cannot be angry with you for that." saying it to aid in putting the boy's fears at rest. "In all honesty, it wasn't all planned out to happen this way. I had never really thought of it happening until I had already left." the boy confessed. "That means you trusted your instincts, not bad for a little kid." Zhang Fei said.

"T-Thank you all…" Ren Jiang said, nearly crying at how overjoyed he was at their acceptance of his actions. He reigned in the impulse to shed tears. "No problem. Now, why don't we go ahead and finish off these Yellow Turbans!" Zhang Fei said, ready to smash some skulls. "Yes, it is time we defeat these rebels!" Guan Yu responded. "Agreed. Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Ren Jiang, let us fight and quell this uprising!" Liu Bei declared. "Right! Hey, Sun Ce!" Ren Jiang yelled, calling his friend over. "Hey! Glad to see you didn't go down back there! I couldn't lose a good partner so soon!" Sun Ce said, happy to see Ren was okay. Watching the interaction, the three brothers couldn't help but smile at the kinship between the two. "No problem. Now then, it's time we end this!" he finalized as the group turned to face the final obstacle in this war…

…the leader of the Yellow Turbans, Zhang Jiao…

Notes

Sorry if this chapter wasn't as long as you may have wanted. I originally had planned to include the Zhang Jiao fight and aftermath here, but that would make the chapter rushed and a bit too long for my tastes(for now, at least). So, those events will happen in the next one. That will end the Yellow Turban arc and set up the stage for what comes next.

Anyways, there's only one new major character in this chapter, but I'll give you his age regardless.

Zhang Jiao: 44

In case you're wondering why Ren Jiang seems so tough, even for a "strong OC" as I had described him, well…It's a combination of the training he had gone through and much underestimation on the part of the Yellow Turbans. I'll try and dumb it down a little, but no promises.

Anyways, KnightMan1890, signing off! See ya later!


	6. Explosion of Rage

Hey there, it's KnightMan1890 back once more with another chapter of Chaos Reigns. Last time, Ren Jiang had reunited with the sworn brothers after some serious battle with the Yellow Turbans. Now teamed up with the three along with his new partner, Sun Ce, the four were poised to the end the rebellion by taking down Zhang Jiao…

"speech"

'_thinking' _

"_inner speech" _

"**rage speech" **

(author's notes & comments)

((scene change))

previous chapter note

_**responses to reviews **_

_flashback_

_**narration **_

_Snook24 – __**Again, sorry I haven't responded to your message in so long. Also, that mail I sent you was hastily made in the middle of a school day. Please continue reading my stories. I appreciate your output(and understand your reasoning for your criticism. It's all cool). Thanks! **_

(Last time on Chaos Reigns…)

"T-Thank you all…" Ren Jiang said, nearly crying at how overjoyed he was at their acceptance of his actions. He reigned in the impulse to shed tears. "No problem. Now, why don't we go ahead and finish off these Yellow Turbans!" Zhang Fei said, ready to smash some skulls. "Yes, it is time we defeat these rebels!" Guan Yu responded. "Agreed. Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Ren Jiang, let us fight and quell this uprising!" Liu Bei declared. "Right! Hey, Sun Ce!" Ren Jiang yelled, calling his friend over. "Hey! Glad to see you didn't go down back there! I couldn't lose a good partner so soon!" Sun Ce said, happy to see Ren was okay. Watching the interaction, the three brothers couldn't help but smile at the kinship between the two. "No problem. Now then, it's time we end this!" he finalized as the group turned to face the final obstacle in this war…

…the leader of the Yellow Turbans, Zhang Jiao… 

(And now…)

_**This was it…**_

_**The final battle against the Yellow Turbans had begun. However, the Han forces immediately found heavy resistance in the forms of phantom soldiers suddenly appearing. **_

_**Despite the hardship, Ren Jiang found a bright spot when he was reunited with Liu Bei and his brothers. Now teamed with the three, along with Sun Ce, the time had come to end this rebellion once and for all.**_

_**Although, our young hero will find that he is much more special than he himself had ever dreamed…**_

"_Come to me…"_

Ren Jiang suddenly heard a strange voice within the confines of his mind as he prepared to assault the main altar and the leader of the Yellow Turbans, Zhang Jiao.

"_Realize your destiny…"_

The voice persisted, growing in intensity. The boy idly wondered if he was actually going crazy. (at such a young age…yikes)

"_Awaken your true power…"_

It continued, seeming to beckon to him. He tried to concentrate on it, searching for its origin.

"_Face the sins of your forebears…!"_

It started to yell, the boy beginning to hold his head in discomfort as the voice rose to a fever pitch. The various phrases were constantly repeated in a slur of speech, all of them mixing together.

"_COME TO ME!"_

It suddenly screamed, causing the boy to cry out in pain, falling to his knees. The surge brought him back to reality, the first thing he noticed being Sun Ce hoisting him back up to his feet. "Hey, you okay? You just yelled out of nowhere!" the other boy said, a slightly worried look on his face. Ren Jiang shook his head, clearing away the last vestiges of the strange voice that was speaking to him.

"Y-Yeah…I'm fine, Sun Ce." he said, although not exactly meaning it. _'Just what was that? A voice in my head? I can't be losing it already, can I?' _he thought to himself as he looked around. The Han army was still battling the Yellow Turbans and their phantom army, but the three brothers were nowhere to be seen(at least, where he looked). "Hey, Sun Ce, where is Lord Liu Bei and his brothers?" the boy asked his companion. "You mean those three guys who were just here? Don't you remember, they've gone to fight Zhang Jiao on that altar there." he answered, pointing at the three brothers, who were now engaging Zhang Jiao in battle.

'_Oh, right. Darn it, what's wrong with my memory today?' _he thought to himself. Although he couldn't hear what was being said between the people atop the altar, he did see a large fire pillar suddenly erupt from the ground, blocking the view. The boy's eyes widened in shock, fearing the worst.

"Lord Liu Bei! Sun Ce, we've got to help them!" he resolved, his earlier mental stress gone. Sun Ce, however, held out his arm, keeping his friend back. "What are you doing? We have to go!" Ren yelled. "They told us to stay back, and that they'd take care of it." Ce said sternly. "And you're gonna listen and back out of this fight?" Ren asked, surprised at his friend's actions. Ce smiled. "No, but I just wanted to make sure you were going in there. You seemed out of it for a while." he answered, lowering his arm. "Well, don't worry about me so much, Sun Ce. I'm okay, really." Ren said, raring to go. "Then come on, let's go!" Ce said as he sped off to the altar. "Hey, wait up!" Ren called.

"_Yes...the time has come to awaken...Prepare yourself, boy..." _The strange voice appeared once again within the boy's mind. _'H-Huh? That voice again...just who are you?' _He asked to whoever was speaking to him. "_Pay no heed...you will come to know in time, young one. But for now, sleep..." _It said as its associated foreign presence suddenly began to spread within Ren Jiang's mindscape. _'W-What? What are you...doing...' _He thought as he collapsed into unconsciousness, his body falling to the ground.

Hearing the impact, Sun Ce turned around and saw his friend down. "H-Hey! Ren!" he called out as he went over to him and hoisted his body up. Ren's eyes were closed. "Are you okay? Wake up!" Ce yelled, wondering what was going on. The boy's eyes snapped open, making Ce flinch as they had become a stark red with a slitted pupil in the middle. "R-Ren, you alright? What happened? And why are your eyes like that?" Ce asked, worried about his friend.

Ren looked to be in thought for a minute, as if remembering something. He soon shook his head to clear his thoughts. "Y-Yeah, I'm fine, Sun Ce. Don't worry too much about what happened. I'm…letting this fight get to me, that's all." the boy said, a bit strangely. "Well, alright. If you say so, Ren. The eyes look cool anyways. Come on! Let's get that Zhang Jiao!" Ce responded, his fears alleviated. "Right, it's time to finish this." Ren said as the two were finally clear to head towards the altar, his eyes unconsciously draining back to their blue color.

"_Hehe...this Zhang Jiao just may be the key to the ascension..." _the boy mused...thoughts that were not his own...

Meanwhile, at the altar, Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei were having a bit of trouble.

((flashback; several minutes ago))

"_Stay here, you two. We'll handle Zhang Jiao." Liu Bei told the two boys, who hesitatingly nodded at his light, but stern tone. Although loathe to leave them in the middle of a battlefield, there was nothing else he could do. He couldn't take them back to the main camp, as it was too far away, and the main force was here anyways. He also refused to allow them to face Zhang Jiao, as he was afraid for their safety if they did. 'They did make it this far…Hopefully, they can handle themselves. In any case, the entire Han army is here. They should be okay.' Liu Bei thought._

_Agonizing in his mind over what to do with the two, he decided to leave with his two brothers before he lost his nerve over his current choice of action. Ascending the altar, he and his two brothers came face-to-face with the leader of the Yellow Turbans, Zhang Jiao himself, lowering himself to the ground at the opposition who now planned to fight him._

"_The Han has already burned out." the brazen healer declared. "You fools who turn your backs on Heaven, feel its fiery fury!" he yelled as his body and staff began to glow with a flaming magical energy. _

"_You're nothing but a bunch of hot air! I'll take you down right now!" Zhang Fei yelled in response. "You who bring destruction to this land, shall be struck down by the blade of justice!" Guan Yu declared, readying his weapon. "Zhang Jiao…we three brothers shall put an end to you and the chaos you have wrought!" Liu Bei cried, pointing one of his swords at the healer. "Then face the flames of Heaven's wrath!" Zhang Jiao yelled, waving his staff in a spell caster-like fashion. _

_The three brothers sprung into action, hoping to put a quick end to this. However, Zhang Jiao completed his spell faster than they had thought._

_A multitude of fire pillars suddenly shot forth from the ground both below and around them…_

((flashback end))

The fight was on.

Of course, it wasn't as much a battle as it was Liu Bei and his brothers working their hardest to avoid the flames rising up from the ground. It was an act of sorcery, that much was certain, but the cause, besides Zhang Jiao, was unknown as of yet, mainly since the three had no chance to search for it.

_'As powerful a sorcerer as he is, even he can't possibly maintain both the phantom army and the flames under his own power. At least one of them must be created from a outside source. But which one, and where?' _Liu Bei mused to himself as he and his brothers regrouped themselves. Their armors were lightly singed from the fire, but they were otherwise fine.

The leader of the Yellow Turbans was once again levitating in the air, seeming to mock the struggle of the troops on the ground who were not his own. However, his men were unbelievably being pushed back.

The Han officers, exploiting the weaknesses within the phantom army, were quickly gaining ground. The shock of the phantoms themselves had worn off from the Han soldiers' minds, and they too, were attacking fiercely, following the examples of the major officers.

_'How can this be? My men are being consumed! Oh, Heaven above, have you forsaken us?' _The healer thought forlornly, but thought quickly gave way to anger at the sight of his children falling before him. _'No! I shall not give in to the Han, ever!' _"ENOUGH!" he screamed, raising his staff high. His yell caught the attention of everyone within hearing range, with even the phantom soldiers stopping and turning their heads to face him. "How dare you infidels still resist us? The deaths of my children and brothers shall be avenged when the Han is razed to the ground by the flames of my wrath!" he declared as the fire pillars on the altar rose sky-high in response to his emotion.

"Zhang Jiao!" A young boy's voice rang out, sounding like a lion's roar against the eerie quietness of the clearing after the brazen healer's yells.

The armies looked down from Zhang Jiao and saw two young boys standing at the altar's entrance, some immediately noticing who they were. "Ren Jiang!" "Sun Ce!" Liu Bei and Sun Jian called out, respectively. "Why are you here? You must leave at once, it's too dangerous for you to fight Zhang Jiao!" Liu Bei said to Ren, who simply stood there impassively.

The two boys merely looked on at Zhang Jiao, disregarding what their respective guardians said to them. Ren reigned in the impulse to simply charge forward, however. At least, for the moment. _"Kukukuku...yes...this sorcerer shall be perfect..." _The inner voice said in a sinister tone.

_'So, even an innocent child can be corrupted by the rotten carcass that is the Han...' _Zhang Jiao thought as he stared at the silver-haired boy who was glaring at him. The boy's face twisted into an increasing snarl of anger, amplifying the emotions shown within his eyes, inwardly shocking the healer at such a fierceness within. "So, you're the one who's leading all this?" the boy asked, his expression still angry. "Why...why are you doing this? Why do you bring destruction to this land we live in? Just what is your purpose?" he continued, wanting answers.

"The Han has become a mere shell of what it once was. Its corruption plagues this land with impunity, turning it into a diseased cesspool. The Heavens have called for the creation of a new world, and I shall bring about its making! A land ruled over by the Yellow Turbans!" the healer spoke, drawing cheers from the Yellow Turbans still below the altar.

"And you plan to do that through such means as this? You incite people into rebellion, and your loyal 'children', as you call them, take the opportunity to burn down villages, plunder, and kill, using the chaotic world that you have brought on! How can you bring peace when you destroy the very land you wish to rule over in the process?" Ren yelled in response, still seeking his answers.

"For our new world sought by Heaven itself...those losses are necessary evils." Zhang Jiao said with finality. "W-What?" Ren Jiang yelled, unbelieving of what the healer said.

(play DB Raging Blast BGM - Tense Atmosphere)

Something strange began to happen to the boy at that moment. A odd sensation began to well up inside him. His temper flared higher than he had ever thought possible. He felt that familiar snap somewhere within his mind. "H-How dare you...!" he gritted out, gnashing his teeth together. "You burn down my home...You kill my family...and all you can say was that it was a means to an end...?" he mumbled incredulously, his eyes bleeding into red once again.

"_Yes...yes...channel your anger...show them your true power...Unleash what has been inside you all along!" _The inner voice called out, responding to Ren's anger nearing its peak.

Even more wild about this scene was the flowing blue aura that began to outline the boy's body. "How dare you...How dare you...!" he repeated, as if it was his mantra. He actually began to growl...akin to a wild dog.

"R-Ren?" Sun Ce asked tentatively, a apprehensive look on his face. He didn't know exactly what was happening to his friend, but he did know this...

...it wasn't natural, and that fact scared him.

"_Now is the time...AWAKEN!" _the inner voice screamed just as the boy's emotions topped out.

"I'LL KILL YOU!" the boy roared in pure, unbridled _rage_. The strange cyan aura lanced forth, sending a gale of wind careening outwards. Many in the army, after coming into contact with the generated air, began to shiver, as it was an icy cold.

"_HAHAHAHA! YES! Show no mercy! Fulfill your destiny!" _The voice yelled out, fueling the boy's power rush.

Ren burst forth, astonishingly leaping the entire vertical distance to Zhang Jiao, who braced himself and blocked with his staff, using his own fiery energy to counter to the boy's inherent ice ability. The clash created a area of static electricity around the two, bolts lancing around the afflicted area.

The people on the ground couldn't believe their eyes. This mere boy...had just _exploded _with some strange power that they had never seen before.

Xiahou Yuan, ever the vigilant marksman, noticed something familiar about the boy. "Hey, cousin! I think that's the kid I saw just after the rockslide!" he said, getting the attention of Xiahou Dun and Cao Cao. "Humph. So it is. But what the hell happened to him?" Dun asked. _'Such strength...' _Cao Cao mused to himself. "I am sure no one knows. Dun, Yuan, stay back for now. Let us see how this plays out." the leader said.

Huang Gai, in all his years of battle, had never even dreamed of a spectacle such as this. "I knew the boy was a decent fighter, but to contain something such as this...It's inconceivable!" the veteran said to his lord, who responded with, "Yes, such strength must be a great asset, but it can also be a heavy burden as well. Look at him." Sun Jian said, pointing towards the fight.

Ren Jiang had been pushed back in the initial struggle, but he merely jumped back into the fray with yet another yell of anger, he and the healer clashing once again. "The boy fights with reckless abandon, acting little more than a wild animal lost in its rage." Jian remarked, attributing Ren's current state of fighting to that of a berserker. "At this rate, he will only bring about his own self-destruction." he continued. "Then we must do something. For that to transpire would be a waste of such a young life as his." the aged retainer said. "I know, but it seems my boy plans to take care of that." Jian said, still looking at the altar.

The three brothers at the altar were stunned into silence at what was happening before them. The young boy was showing a power likened to that of, in their minds, a demon's. They didn't know just what had come over him, but if his animalistic screams and glowing red eyes were any indication, it wasn't good.

"Brother, I fear our young friend may be somehow possessed by some greater power. This...beast...is not the child we know." Guan Yu said, looking on at Ren's changed form. "I know, Brother. We have to break the hold that is over him." Liu Bei responded. "What can we do? It seems like the kid'll just attack us if try to get in the way." Zhang Fei asked. "Maybe, but regardless, we have to stop him anyway we can." Liu Bei answered.

Zhang Jiao, successfully holding off Ren Jiang's assault, looked at the boy with pity. "What is it that you hope to accomplish, young one? You have power, but you allow it to control your mind. You have no chance at defeating me." he said, staring down at the boy. "Shut up! I don't care how long it takes! I'll take you down!" Ren yelled as he prepared to attack yet again, but...

"Ren!" a young voice called out, the addressed person turning around. It was Sun Ce, surprisingly a frightened look on his face. "I-I don't know what's happening to you, but this isn't you! You're not some wild animal! You're my partner, my friend! Now wake up! Please!" he pleaded with him, scared for his friend. "You can't stop me, Sun Ce. No one can anymore..." Ren said remorsefully, actually escaping his rage a few scant seconds. "And as for you...!" he continued, turning back to Zhang Jiao, ready to charge forth once again.

Suddenly, he felt a pair of arms wrap around his body, holding him back. His power flared, glowing with more intensity as he looked to find the interloper. It was Liu Bei, wrapping his limbs around Ren's torso, his greater size preventing the boy from moving. His anger rose once again, his teeth clenching. **"You! How dare you interfere! Let me go this instant!"** he yelled in a voice that was not his own, struggling to break the man's grip. "You must get ahold of yourself! Sun Ce is right, this is not who you are!" Liu Bei yelled, gritting his teeth as he tried his hardest to keep the boy in check. **"Leave me alone! I'll make Zhang Jiao pay for what he's done!"** 'Ren' continued. "No! You cannot allow this wild power to control you! What would your parents have thought of this? Ren Jiang!" the man yelled, causing the boy's eyes to widen.

"**W-Wha...My...parents…"** the boy mused as a particular memory came to him. (end song)

((flashback; one hour before the prologue))

Ren Jiang was in his home, listening to one of his mother's stories. His father was in a chair next to him, holding his baby sister on his lap.

"...and he managed to end the battle, finally. But his wounds were too great, after having borne them for nearly three days, and he died soon after." Ren's mother said, finishing her latest tale.

"But how, Mom? How could he live for so long if he was hurt that badly?" the boy asked. "Because, son, he had found a purpose to fight for, and had discovered his inner strength." the mother answered. "Inner strength?" Ren asked. "That's right, kid. It's the drive that keeps one going, even in the worst of situations. It's completely different between any two people, unique only to yourself. Everyone has it." the father explained. "E-Even me?" the boy asked. "Of course. One day, you too, will find your own inner strength." his mother answered, a knowing smile on her face.

"But, what will happen to me?" Ren asked. "That is up to you, and what is inside." the woman said. "But remember this, son." the father began. "When you awaken your inner strength, you must not let it control you. Your emotions may be consumed by a malcontent feeling such as anger, but you cannot allow that to affect your mind and willpower." he continued. "Why, dad? What would happen?" the boy inquired.

Before either of the parents could answer, however, a large explosion was heard near the center of the village...

((flashback end))

"**T-That's right...My inn**er strength...was this what they were talking about?" the boy began to wonder, his rage starting to abate. "_NO! You must keep fighting! You cannot stop now! Your revenge is nearly at hand!" _the voice yelled. _'Shut up! I don't know what you are, but get out of my head, NOW!' _the boy mentally screamed, finally forcing the foreign influence to the depths of his mind. "_Curse you! You may have won today, boy, but I will return! You cannot stop your destiny forever!" _the voice yelled with its final vestiges of its presence.

Outside Ren's mind, the energy was beginning to dissipate, the cold winds going with it. The troops were starting to relax, if only so slightly. Atop the altar, the boy had stopped thrashing about, his body collapsing into Liu Bei's arms after the release of his power.

"L-Lord Liu Bei, I...I'm so sorry. I never meant to cause you such trouble...Tell Sun Ce that I apologize to him as well..." the boy managed to struggle out before falling unconscious, the aura and power now gone. "It's alright. Rest now." Liu Bei said.

"W-Will Ren be okay?" Sun Ce asked, coming over to check on his friend. "Yes. He should be. Here, take him somewhere relatively safe. Look after him." the people's man said, handing the boy's body to Ce, who nodded and decided to go to where his father was.

"And now..." Bei began, turning to look upwards at Zhang Jiao. "The time has finally come to end this." he declared, flanked on the sides by his two brothers.

Notes

Finally done with that chapter! Man, that took a while. This is my longest one to date. Sorry I haven't updated in a while. I just took the SAT, and school is ending in about two weeks, so finals are coming on.

I had originally wanted this to be the final Yellow Turban chapter, but I've taken too long with it as it is, so I'll just leave it as a plot advancement section. The next chapter will finally end the first arc and begin the lead-on to the next one.

Anyways, I know people are wondering about what the hell happened to Ren Jiang. Well, I had actually planned something like this all along. An explanation about all the craziness will come within the next few chapters. I hope the story progression was decent, it was hard trying to blur the line between the boy and his 'inner' of sorts.

Regardless, KnightMan1890, signing off! Laters!


	7. From Yellow Turbans to Dong Zhuo

Hello there. It is I, KnightMan1890, back at ya with another chapter of Chaos Reigns. Last time, a strange power awoke within Ren Jiang, causing him to berserk in the battle against Zhang Jiao. Finally calming down through the efforts of Sun Ce and Liu Bei, he falls unconscious. Now, the endgame has come for the Yellow Turbans.

Also, you know how I said there'd be filler chapters sprinkled throughout the storyline? Well, this will be the first one. It should be pretty short, basically a small narration of events, but please enjoy nonetheless. Anyways, let's get going.

"speech"

'_thinking' _

(author's notes & comments)

((scene change))

previous chapter note

_**responses to reviews **_

_flashback_

_**narration **_

(Last time on Chaos Reigns…)

Outside Ren's mind, the energy was beginning to dissipate, the cold winds going with it. The troops were starting to relax with the relieved pressure from them, if only so slightly. Atop the altar, the boy had stopped thrashing about, his body collapsing into Liu Bei's arms after the release of his power. 

"L-Lord Liu Bei, I…I'm so sorry. I never meant to cause you such trouble…Tell Sun Ce that I apologize to him as well…" he managed to struggle out before falling unconscious, the aura and power now gone. "It's alright. Rest now." Liu Bei said.

"W-Will Ren be okay?" Sun Ce asked, coming over to check on his friend. "Yes. He should be. Here, take him somewhere relatively safe. Look after him." the people's leader said, handing the boy to Sun Ce, who nodded and decided to go to where his father was. 

"And now…" Bei began, turning to look upwards at Zhang Jiao. "The end has come for this rebellion." he declared, flanked on each side by his two brothers. 

(And now…)

_**The Yellow Turban Rebellion had finally been quelled.**_

_**Ren Jiang's fierce assault against Zhang Jiao proved a welcome distraction for Liu Bei and his two brothers. While the healer took a moment to recover from the attack, the trio discovered the source of Zhang Jiao's incantations, large cauldrons which shone with blue flames on each corner of the altar. **_

_**Splitting into separate directions, the three destroyed a cauldron each, with Sun Ce returning to the altar and taking down the last one. This ended up dispelling the various flame pillars that were rising from the ground beneath them, allowing them to focus their attacks on Zhang Jiao.**_

_**The healer fought brazenly, constantly using his fire for both attack and defense. However, he was no match for the combined might of the three brothers, who, using a tripartite slash, sent Jiao crashing into the ground with a triple blow. It appeared to be the end…But, Zhang still left one last mark within the minds of the trio.**_

((flashback))

_The leader of the Yellow Turbans had finally been defeated. However, he wouldn't stay down, as he began staggering to his feet at a sluggish pace. He only managed to get back to his knees at this point. "What can a man of your indecision hope to achieve by defeating me?" he asked, addressing Liu Bei. "All I desire…is an end to the chaos." Bei answered, staring down at the healer with a look of conviction. The kneeling man merely laughed at this._

"_Hahaha…You fool. The Han's days are over." he began, standing up, but leaving his staff on the ground. "Defeating me… won't stop anything at all." Jiao continued. "Perhaps…that is so. But wherever people are suffering, I will be there." the people's man responded, the determined look still in place. Jiao merely laughed again, even louder than before._

"_You are so naïve, you poor deluded fool. That quality of yours…will bring great suffering to those close to you…" he said forebodingly as he collapsed to the ground, finally dead. His body vanished in a flash of fire, the phantom army disappearing along with him. _

((flashback end))

_**And so, the rebellion came to an end. Without their leaders to guide them, the remaining Yellow Turban soldiers were easily dispatched. Few managed to escape, but they were brushed off as no longer important. **_

_**Liu Bei took the still sleeping form of Ren Jiang from the care of Sun Jian's forces, much to the disappointment of Sun Ce. The leader explained his reasoning, and Jian told his son that the boy owned a great debt to Liu Bei, allowing him to be taken. **_

_**Cao Cao lamented that the boy was already under the guardianship of Liu Bei, as he was impressed by the show of power he displayed while fighting Zhang Jiao. However, the Hero of Chaos had the nagging feeling that a chance to see the boy again would soon present itself, and he decided to put his notions involving him on hold until that opportunity came out. **_

((timeskip; 1 month later))

_**Was the dream to save the people and the land itself destined to go unrealized?**_

_**Thanks in large part to the efforts of Liu Bei's forces, the Yellow Turban Rebellion came to a much-welcomed end. Ren Jiang woke up several hours after the army had left the battlefield. He was mildly saddened at not being able to say good-bye to Sun Ce, and idly wondered if he would see him or his father and the others again. **_

_**Nevertheless, he was supported by his uncle, Jin Zang, while traveling along with Liu Bei and his brothers, as they continued to fight on behalf of the people. However, the chaos showed no signs of abating. **_

_**As fate would have it, the scattered remnants of the Yellow Turban army had started to collect into various groups of soldiers, one of which attacked Liu Bei's small force of five during their resting period within a grassy clearing. **_

_**With the help of Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, the raiding party was easily defeated, with little harm done. However, while trying to deduce the reasoning behind the assault, a particular fact was made known…**_

_**There was no sign of Ren Jiang anywhere within the camp.**_

((timeskip))

_**Several years later, the Han Imperial Court finally lost the last vestiges of its authority and influence, falling prey to the chaos that ravaged around it. **_

_**It was then that the nobleman, Yuan Shao, rose up. "We must slay the Ten Eunuchs who are responsible for this corruption!" he proclaimed, gathering together the various warlords. Their combined force was able to eliminate the Eunuchs, preserving peace for a short time.**_

_**However, an even greater threat loomed over the land even after the deaths of the Eunuchs.**_

_**Its name was Dong Zhuo, a warlord known and feared throughout the land. He manipulated the young Han emperor, Liu Xian, and began a tyrannical rule over the capital, Luo Yang, through violence and ruthlessness. **_

_**In response, Yuan Shao gathered the various generals and armies of those who had fought against the Ten Eunuchs, along with several others throughout the land in order to form a coalition against Dong Zhuo.**_

_**The ranks of this large-scale alliance included: Cao Cao, Sun Jian, Yuan Shu, Liu Yan, Yuan Shao himself, and of course, Liu Bei, along with his old friend, Gongsun Zan. Together, their goal was the elimination of Dong Zhuo. **_

_**Rather than simply lament the endless chaos, Liu Bei and his brothers wished to help the people who were suffering. And so, the three found themselves heading toward the Allies' main camp. Before them and the rest of the Alliance stood the formidable gates of Si Shui and Hu Lao…**_

_**However, despite the looming battle for the land, Liu Bei couldn't help but think…**_

_**What had become the fate of their young ward, Ren Jiang…? **_

((Alliance Main Camp))

It was winter, the month of January in the year 190, to be exact. Temperatures were freezing cold, and snow and ice covered the ground, along with the various encampments on both sides of the battle that was about to take place. However, Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei paid it little mind as they walked through the Allied main camp.

Zhang Fei, getting into a staredown with an apparently familiar face, turned away before he started anything. "Hmph, I see one or two famous faces here today." he said, looking around at the various gathered armies. "Yes. Not only do we have Yuan Shao, leader of the alliance, but its instigator, Cao Cao, as well. Yuan Shu…Sun Jian…quite a list of dignitaries." Guan Yu answered. "And yet our brother is still unknown." he continued, he and Zhang Fei looking at Liu Bei aiding a tired soldier. "At least, until we defeat Dong Zhuo here today, that is." he finalized, looking at the gates that would lead to the start of the battle.

"Of course, this is all so Brother will become known throughout the land. Any personal satisfaction I get is just a bonus." Zhang Fei said, catching Guan Yu's attention. "Do not get too far ahead of yourself. Our actions will reflect on our brother, for better or worse." the large-bearded man chided. "You don't think I know that? Man, you gotta lighten up a little, Brother!" Zhang Fei responded.

"Hmm? What's wrong, Brother?" Guan Yu asked, turning to Liu Bei. The young ruler's face was downcast, and he seemed to be deep in thought. "It's that kid, again? Isn't it?" Zhang Fei answered, knowing that their young friend had never left Liu Bei's mind since he had gone missing. "Yes…even after six years…I refuse to believe he is…dead…but, a boy his age, having to live on his own for that long…I can't help but blame myself…" he answered solemnly.

"You mustn't blame yourself, Brother. We had no idea as to where the Yellow Turban remnants could have taken him. We wouldn't have known where to look-" Guan Yu began to say, but was cut off. "I know that, but we could have tried something, anything! I know the people were in need, but he was as well! I abandoned him…were he here now, what would he think of me…?" Liu Bei lamented, his thoughts throughout the previous years concerning the boy coming to the front.

"I don't think any less of you, Lord Liu Bei." a new voice answered, the three brothers turning to its source.

Notes

Finally, another one bites the dust. Sorry I haven't updated in so long. I'm a real lazy guy sometimes, and spending several hours typing on a computer isn't exactly my way of having fun during the summer. By no means have I scrapped this story, however, since the Dong Zhuo battle will begin next chapter, and it's something I've wanted to do for a while now.

Anyways, now that I've skipped about 6 years, here's the new ages of major characters.

Character Ages  
>Liu Bei: 29<br>Guan Yu: 28  
>Zhang Fei: 22<br>Cao Cao: 34  
>Yuan Shao: 36<p>

KnightMan1890, signing off! Laters!


	8. Return & Reunion

I'm back, once again. This is KnightMan1890 here with yet another chapter of Chaos Reigns: RNH. Last chapter, the battle shifted from the Yellow Turbans to the tyrannical Dong Zhuo, and the sudden disappearance of Ren Jiang weighing heavily on Liu Bei. Now in the main camp of the anti-Dong Zhuo alliance, the three brothers are greeted by a newcomer. Who is this person? Find out…

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my original character. (hope I don't get sued for not doing this in the first 7 chapters…)

"speech"

'_thinking' _

"_inner speech" _

"**rage speech" **

(author's notes & comments)

((scene change))

previous chapter note

_**responses to reviews **_

_flashback_

_**narration **_

(Review responses…)

_Awesome PJOHarry - __**Thanks for your approval! The next update is coming soon!**_

(Last time on Chaos Reigns…)

"Hmm? What's wrong, Brother?" Guan Yu asked, turning to Liu Bei. The young ruler's face was downcast, and he seemed to be deep in thought. "It's that kid, again? Isn't it?" Zhang Fei answered, knowing that their young friend had never left Liu Bei's mind since he had gone missing. "Yes…even after six years…I refuse to believe he is…dead…but, a boy his age, having to live on his own for that long…I can't help but blame myself…" he answered solemnly.

"You mustn't blame yourself, Brother. We had no idea as to where the Yellow Turban remnants could have taken him. We wouldn't have known where to look-" Guan Yu began to say, but was cut off. "I know that, but we could have tried something, anything! I know the people were in need, but he was as well! I abandoned him…were he here now, what would he think of me…?" Liu Bei lamented, his thoughts throughout the previous years concerning the boy coming to the front.

"I don't think any less of you, Lord Liu Bei." a new voice answered, the three brothers turning to its source. 

(And now…)

_**From the Yellow Turbans to the tyrannical Dong Zhuo, it seemed it was not time for the land to be at peace just yet. Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei have joined the coalition against the country's newest threat, and have arrived at the alliance's main camp, the battle nearly ready to begin.**_

_**Before that, however, the brothers have been confronted by a new face…Who is this person?**_

The three brothers turned and faced the newcomer.

The person was a very young man, looking to still be in his early teenage years. He had a very familiar style of stark white hair and set of cerulean-blue eyes. His face was angled, and his body was lean and defined, but not overly-muscular. (think of a modern day swimmer's build; no homo J) He was about the same height as Liu Bei, but he had nothing on Guan Yu and Zhang Fei.

He wore a predominately dark green outfit; so dark that if one didn't look closely enough, it would seem black. He had a multi-layered vest with what looked to be a light chest plating under it. His arms and hands were completely bare, but he didn't seem to be bothered at all by the cold. Unseen on the back of the top half of his outfit was a gold, artistic dragon design. He also had simple dark pants with what looked to be white lightning lancing around them, and black combat shoes.

His weapon, strapped to his back, was a spear, almost as long as he was tall. The handle was black with a golden rounded tip, while the tri-pronged blade was an reddish-orange with a small crimson wrapping holding the connector of the two parts together. (for this weapon's appearance, look up the "Divine Spear" on DW7) He also had a curved sword strapped to his waist as a secondary weapon(o-katana, samurai style J). The holster was black, and the sword's handle was a dark blue.

He looked so painfully similar to their young friend, it was like a punch to the gut by both of his brothers to Liu Bei. In fact, the only things alienating this man from the young boy they knew besides his weapons were the scar on his left eye and the two bangs, one on each side, hanging over his face instead of just one on the right. However…

That was just it. He was almost _too _similar to the boy to be anyone except his twin, and the boy had never mentioned anything about a twin brother. Also, it had been several years since they had last seen him, so he would be in his early teens by now…

Maybe…Just maybe…

They were speaking to him right now, without even realizing it.

But, just to make sure…

"Ren Jiang?" Liu Bei asked tentatively, shocking his brothers and causing the young man to chuckle. "Got it in one, my lord. And after so long as well. I'm impressed that your memory serves you as such." the now identified Ren Jiang answered, smirking.

The three brothers couldn't believe it. _This _was what had become of the child they had known? In the span of six years, he looked to have become stronger, tougher, and perhaps even battle-hardened if the weapons and the eye scar were anything to go by. Despite his current demeanor, they could see it in his eyes…He had experienced hardship during his time away from them. They had a hardness and sharpness to them that could only be emulated by one who had done so.

All in all, he looked to be a _warrior_.

"What? We don't see you in six years, and that's all you have to say, kid?" Zhang Fei said incredulously as he went up to the child-turned-teenager and gave him a sound clasp on the shoulder, his way of showing the small gratitude and relief that the young man was safe after all this time. "I oughta knock you out for making Brother worry so much, you know. He's been kicking himself for a while over not finding you." he said, playing around at first, but getting serious near the end. "I'm sorry I didn't try to come find you all, but after I escaped the prison of the Yellow Turban remnants, I had no idea where to begin looking. I couldn't afford to merely wander around the land for an unknown period of time." Ren said a bit anxiously, wondering what their reaction would be. _'Even though that ended up happening anyways…' _he added as an afterthought.

"Do not worry yourself about the matter. As it looks now, you seem to have turned out fine from the ordeal. You have the look and feel of a true warrior in the making." Guan Yu said, making his approval of the former boy's changes known. Although he didn't like the circumstances of what happened to the young man, he felt that a little bit of hardship was needed to toughen one up and make one stronger, in order to truly start on the warrior's path.

"I thank you for your praise, Master Guan Yu. I hope I can prove myself here and live up to your expectations." Ren answered, garnering a nod from the large-bearded man. "I know all about that tyrant, Dong Zhuo, and wish to do what I can to help. But…I figured that you three would be here, so there's something I need to get off my chest." he continued, walking up to Liu Bei, surprising said man when he got down on his knees and set down his spear in front of him.

"Lord Liu Bei…I wish to become a part of your cause…to aid in relieving the suffering of the people. I offer what little skills I have, and _beg_ of you…will you allow me to join you and fight at your side?" he asked, wondering what the man's answer will be.

The three brothers were shocked by this turn of events, Liu Bei especially. Returning after a six year absence, he now wishes to join him as a full-fledged, official member of Liu Bei's forces? He didn't know what to think of it all…until he looked in Ren's eyes…

They say the eyes are windows to one's soul; well, what Liu Bei saw was an absolute unwavering determination. They betrayed no fear, no anxiety, no uncertainty. He looked as though he would battle against both Guan Yu and Zhang Fei at the same time in order to secure his position.

Somehow…Liu Bei had the nagging feeling in the back of his mind that for whatever inexplicable reason, he simply _couldn't _refuse Ren's request, no, _plea _to join his side, despite any doubts he may have about the matter. _'Such resolve…' _he thought idly.

Getting down to Ren's state of kneeling, he picked up the spear and held it out in front of its owner. The two clasped it near the middle as a sign of good faith. "I would be honored…if you would join me and fight by my side." he declared with a small smile on his face. "I thank you whole-heartedly, Lord Liu Bei. I shall do all in my power to advance your cause." Ren responded, happy that his new official lord had accepted him.

"Hey, hey, we don't need all that emotional stuff, kid. You're one of us now, and we expect you to keep up and pull your own weight, alright?" Zhang Fei said, not one for heartfelt emotions. "Right." Ren answered, he and Liu Bei getting back to a standing position.

Meanwhile, a fair ways away, one Xiahou Dun witnessed the reunion of the three brothers and the boy turned teen. Despite the obvious differences, he immediately recognized the snow-white hair and blue eyes of the teen, quickly figuring out his identity, as he'd only seen one person with those qualities. _'So, that kid's back, huh…? Looks like he's starting to grow up. Hmm…I think Cousin will want to know about this.' _Dun thought to himself as went off to report his findings to Cao Cao.

((afterwards))

It was about time for the battle to start. Before the alliance was to set off, however, the Grand Commander Yuan Shao planned to give a speech to the various men within the coalition in order to motivate them for the ordeal ahead.

"…This villain pretends to serve the emperor, but he merely serves himself. He shall pay…with his life! Rest assured, we are fighting for the most righteous of causes! To arms! Stand up, and be proud! For to battle, we march!" he finalized as the troops gave a resounding roar of approval.

The separate armies went to their respective locations within the camp, preparing to get started. Along the way, Ren Jiang ran into a new face. It was a young man, looking to be a good several years older than him wearing a basic soldier outfit, but he had a small, x-shaped scar on the left side of his face that alienated him from the other soldiers. He also had a familiar bun in his hair that stood out from most others.

Getting a strange feeling about the man, Ren Jiang went over to him. "Hey! You look to be new here as well. May I ask what your name is?" Ren inquired, wondering if this man was who he thought he was. "Oh, hello there. My name's Jin Zang. Say, you look pretty young to be out on the battlefield, aren't you?" he asked, not realizing who he was speaking to. "Well, you should know, considering you're my _uncle _and all." Ren said, chuckling at his uncle's shocked expression. "Ren Jiang? But…I thought you were…" Jin started. "…I just found my way back. I've talked to Lord Liu Bei and his brothers, and have officially joined their forces." Ren finished. "I wasn't expecting you to join the army, uncle." the teen continued, giving a once over to his family member, who took a minute to get over the shock of seeing his nephew after so long.

"Yeah, well…I felt useless, what with you getting captured and all, so I volunteered. Today's my first day in the army." Jin answered after a moment of silence. "Well then, looks like we'll both be fighting together, huh?" Ren said, smiling at the newfound family situation. "Looks like it, kid. You'll be careful out there, alright? I can't lose what little family I have left." Jin said, hoping his nephew will stay safe. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. I promise." Ren answered, happy his only remaining family cared about him so.

The two were approached by Liu Bei and his two brothers, geared up and prepared for action. "Well, kid, are you ready to get started?" Zhang Fei asked, eager to start the battle. "Of course, it's time we end Dong Zhuo's reign of tyranny." Ren said, upholstering his spear. "That's the way! I like that spirit of yours, kid. Don't ever lose that, you hear?" Fei responded as Ren nodded his head to the praise.

"Well then, shall we get started?" Ren said, looking towards the direction of the gates that were just about to be opened. "Yes, we will end Dong Zhuo once and for all!" Guan Yu resounded, readying his halberd. "Agreed. My brothers…" Liu Bei started, looking at Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, who both nodded. "…and allies…" he continued, turning to Ren Jiang and Jin Zang, who both nodded as well. "Let us defeat the traitor, Dong Zhuo, and bring peace back to our land!" he finalized, just as the gates were fully opened.

'_Master Wang Yun…your dying wish shall come to fruition, I swear it!' _Ren thought as he and the others set off towards the battlefield.

The fight for the stability of the land was finally about to begin anew…

Notes

Another one down, finally. Writer's block is hammering me hard, but I'm doing my best to keep going with this story. This chapter, I just wanted to get the emotional stuff and introductory things out of the way so I can focus entirely on the battle next chapter.

I think one would wonder why Ren is so forgiving of the three brothers for, as Liu Bei himself put it, abandoning him. Well, do you think a child, now an early teen, would be angry with the people who saved him from death's door and the destruction of his own home? After six years to think on it, no less? On top on Guan Yu's reasoning and how Ren turned out, I think all would be forgiven(but not forgotten).

Character Ages  
>Ren Jiang: 15<br>Jin Zang: 26

KnightMan1890, signing off! See ya next time!


	9. Struggle at Si Shui Gate

And I am back, yet again. This update, I know, was much sooner than the last few. Summer vacation, unfortunately, will be ending in about 3 weeks, so I plan on doing what I can with the story before school starts up again. I'm hoping I can crack down the "Elimination of Dong Zhuo" battle and at least slate out the remaining battles for this story(Xu Province, Xia Pi, and finally, Guan Du). Wish me luck!

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my original character.

"speech"

'_thinking' _

"_inner speech" _

"**rage speech" **

(author's notes & comments)

((scene change))

previous chapter note

_**responses to reviews **_

_flashback_

_**narration **_

(Review responses…)

_Awesome PJOHarry - __**Thanks for your continued support! The identity of Wang Yun and his relationship to Ren Jiang will become known in these next few chapters. And, my avatar is pretty cool, huh? **__**J I look forward to reading more chapters of your own story, so keep it up!**_

(Last time on Chaos Reigns…)

"Well then, shall we get started?" Ren said, looking towards the direction of the gates that were just about to be opened. "Yes, we will end Dong Zhuo once and for all!" Guan Yu resounded, readying his halberd. "Agreed. My brothers…" Liu Bei started, looking at Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, who both nodded. "…and allies…" he continued, turning to Ren Jiang and Jin Zang, who both nodded as well. "Let us defeat the traitor, Dong Zhuo, and bring peace back to our land!" he finalized, just as the gates were fully opened. 

'_Master Wang Yun…your dying wish shall come to fruition, I swear it!' _Ren thought as he and the others set off towards the battlefield. 

The fight for the stability of the land was finally about to begin anew… 

(And now…)

_**The return and crowing of the newest official warrior in Liu Bei's army, Ren Jiang, predates the coming battle against Dong Zhuo. Poised and ready, the anti-Dong Zhuo coalition sets off to battle.**_

_**Ren Jiang shall face his next true test within the fight for the elimination of Dong Zhuo, along with meeting some familiar faces from the past. **_

_**The first challenge, however, will be the formidable Si Shui Gate…**_

(play DW7 BGM - "The Salvation")

"We must defeat Dong Zhuo, and rescue the suffering people. Our first target is Si Shui Gate!" Liu Bei proclaimed as the allied forces began their attack.

And so, the battle started. Immediately, the alliance's army set off in order to quickly gain ground against the enemy. However, various problems immediately rose within the coalition forces due to their hasty attack…

The first, and most pressing one, was a particular warrior within Dong Zhuo's army. His name was Hua Xiong, and he was tearing through the Allied forces in the south, making his way towards the main camp at an extremely fast pace. "Out of my way, cowards! If you will not make room, I _will _cut you down!" he proclaimed, charging his way through his enemies with his troops not far behind.

'_Pitiful…is there no one with the courage to stand up to Hua Xiong?' _Yuan Shao sardonically thought(although I'm sure he wouldn't try to face him).

The second one, equally as serious, was Yuan Shu's force. In charge of the supply depot, they were meant to send food and rations to the other forces in order to keep morale high. Unfortunately, though, the entire depot had been surrounded by the enemy, and was in danger of capture. Losing it would most likely mean the defeat of the coalition as a whole, and who knows what else afterwards. Its isolation also meant that it couldn't send out supplies to the rest of the army. And, this fact was also unknown to most of the Allied army, causing even more problems as no reinforcements were sent to aid the depot.

All this created a third problem with Sun Jian's forces. As the advance unit, they were meant to weaken the enemy's defenses, and create an opening for the main army to exploit against their enemy. However, enemy morale had skyrocketed to an all-time high through the efforts of Hua Xiong's advance, and Sun Jian's army was quickly becoming hard-pressed to move any further. On top of matters, they had also been surrounded by the enemy, preventing supplies from reaching them(as if they were coming anyways). Fatigue and hunger had begun to set in, weakening the troops even more. It seemed to be only a matter of time before they were wiped out. Again, most of their allies were oblivious to this fact, meaning that help would not be coming anytime soon.

All in all, it was a very harsh situation for the Coalition(and this fight's just getting started…jeez).

Since Cao Cao's forces were assigned to defend the main camp for the time being, it looked like it was up to Liu Bei and his forces to fix this mess before they lost the entire alliance.

"We seem to be in quite a situation, Brother. We must hurriedly make our move in order to assist our allies." Guan Yu said, ready to get the order to advance. "I know. Our allies must be swiftly rescued, or this entire battle will be lost." Liu Bei answered, unwilling to lose this fight for the land and its people. "Well then, we need to rid ourselves of Hua Xiong first. Reports say that he's already broken through our forces in the south, and is making his way here. I'll deal with him myself." Ren Jiang said, readying his spear for the rapidly approaching threat.

"You sure about that, kid? Maybe me or Yu should deal with that guy." Zhang Fei rebuked, unsure of Ren's plan to face Hua Xiong alone. "Don't worry about me. I said I would prove myself to you all, and I will. Let me worry about him, and you go to help out our allies." Ren sent back, eager to face Hua Xiong and prove his worth. Liu Bei got into a thinking pose, still unsure of his decision.

"Let him go." a new voice chimed in. Turning, Ren and the three brothers saw that it was Cao Cao who had spoken. "He is determined to battle and defeat Hua Xiong. You should allow him the chance to do so." he said, surprising the others, especially the one in question, at his faith. "Should he be defeated, then he is defeated. Someone else, one of you most likely, would simply step up and take his place against Hua Xiong." he continued, sounding a bit cold towards the situation set before Ren.

Ren Jiang visibly bristled at that last comment. To him, defeat was _unthinkable_. It would mean Hua Xiong would be allowed to resume his assault, possibly breaching the main camp and defeating Yuan Shao, however little of a possibility it may be. That would mean the end of the coalition, and the allowing of Dong Zhuo's tyranny to continue.

But, most importantly of all, it would mean that he would fail his new lord, and that simply could _not _be allowed!

"Regardless, Hua Xiong will arrive at the main camp soon at his rate. You must make a decision now, before he reaches here." Cao Cao finished, pointing out the ultimatum that has been set.

Ren Jiang had had enough of this talk. Normally, he is able to keep a cool head even in battle, but the thoughts of failing his new lord and the consequences that would come with it completely threw all notions of staying calm out the window. _'No…I can't fail…I __**mustn't**__…Lord Liu Bei and Master Wang Yun…I shall not lose!' _he thought angrily as he unsheathed his spear, catching the attention of the others. "Ren? You will go through with this?" Liu Bei asked, worried about his new vassal.

"Yes…I will not lose to him, my lord…I swear on my _life_…!" he proclaimed, shocking the others at his vow. Although, he wasn't done yet. With Ren not facing them, they couldn't see his eyes begin to bleed into his trademark crimson color, the first time the instance has happened in years. "Hua Xiong shall advance no further than _me_!" he yelled as he shouldered his spear and ran off, not allowing anyone to say otherwise.

"Ren, wait…!" Liu Bei tried to call out to him, but it was for naught as the teen had already disappeared from his line of vision. Trying to chase after him, Liu Bei was rebuffed by Cao Cao. "He has chosen his own course of action. You must do so as well. Going after him will not cause him to change his mind." the Hero of Chaos said. Although still worried, Liu Bei relented, but told Jin Zang to follow Ren should he get into trouble. The teen's uncle did as he was told, leaving along with several other troops.

"He will be okay, Brother. We must do our part as well." Guan Yu said, knowing that there was no way to stop Ren at this point. "Yeah, come on, Brother. We need to help our allies out on the field. Besides, seeing that kid so pumped up has gotten me itching for a fight!" Zhang Fei followed, ready as he'd ever be to smash some skulls. "Very well. I trust that he'll be safe. Come, we must go." Liu Bei said as he and the rest of his forces set off.

Cao Cao stood gazing into the direction of where the teenaged warrior ran off in, a contemplative look on his face. _'Defeating Dong Zhuo will not be enough to end this strife…More fighting will inevitably ensue. But for now, Ren Jiang, I have given you this chance as retribution for your assistance before…Now, can you use it effectively, and prove yourself to me?'_ he thought mentally, wondering how the young man would fare.

Yuan Shao, despite his demeanor, did not turn a blind eye to the proceedings. He was surprised at the trust given to the boy by his superiors, especially Cao Cao. His main officer, Zhang He, decided to comment. "Quite a spirit that young boy has. His devotion to his lord and readiness to prove himself in battle is quite inspiring. I hope he shall enjoy a most beautiful and glorious victory!" he said, praising the teen for his loyalty. The Grand Commander, despite his vassal's…unique way of showing his praise, understood what he was saying. (I personally have no problem with Zhang He; it's just, his mannerisms are a bit strange at times.)

((Far Eastern Pathway; 1 mile south of the Allied Main Camp))

Ren was running faster than he ever had before. He knew he had to reach Hua Xiong as quickly as possible, in order to put as much distance between the main camp and the site of their rapidly approaching battle as could be done. There were a few dangers, though. First and foremost, he was alone. That in and of itself could cause some major problems. One, he could be ambushed. Neither Dong Zhuo nor his army were known for honor, and Hua Xiong would most likely be no different. Two, should Hua Xiong attempt to escape the ensuing battle by taking a side pathway, or retreat before the finishing blow could be delivered, Ren would have no way of catching up to him, since he knew for a fact that any enemy soldiers in the area would cover him. Finally, should he be defeated, god forbid, there would be no one else opposing Hua Xiong's rush towards the main camp.

Ergo, he _had _to end this as swiftly as he possibly could.

"Ren! Wait, wait!" the teen suddenly heard a voice calling out to him. Turning for a scant second, but not stopping, he saw that it was his uncle, Jin Zang, followed by several troops. Ren slowed down his pace just enough so the others could catch up. "Uncle? What are you doing here?" the teen asked. The older man panted a bit from the exerted effort before answering. "Lord Liu Bei ordered us to assist you. You didn't really think he'd let you go alone, did you?" he said, causing Ren to smile softly in appreciation. _'Thank you, Lord Liu Bei…for your faith and trust in me…and even for caring enough not to allow me to go it alone.' _Ren thought.

"Alright then, uncle…It looks like the enemy is arriving." the teen remarked, looking at the path ahead. Sure enough, the enemy advance force was just appearing, Hua Xiong leading the way on horseback. The two small forces immediately stopped upon catching sight of one another, each one sizing up the other.

Ren and Jin were immediately put on edge by the enemy archers they spotted within the group. That wasn't good…a retreat would indefinitely be covered by them should the need arise. Hua Xiong, on the other hand, wasn't impressed by the enemy he sees here. "What is this? A boy too young for battle and an even weaker-looking middle-aged man leading a force of only ten soldiers to oppose me? This is the last defense for the Coalition's main camp? How laughable!" he barked out, causing his troops to laugh.

The troops under Liu Bei visibly vibrated with anger at the insults, and were about to attack, but were held back by Ren making a gesture for them to stay back. "Don't fall for their tactics. They're simply trying to goad you. Those archers would pick you out in a second if you merely just charged forth blindly. Looks like the so-called _mighty _Hua Xiong is too _cowardly _to face his enemies in a true one-on-one battle!" he yelled loud and clear, using the enemy's tactic against them and causing Hua Xiong's men to become angered.

Before they could attack, however, Hua held out his spear in a ready position, holding them back much like Ren did with his troops. "You dare insult me, you cur? You shall pay for your insolence! You believe me to be a coward…then come, and face me! Witness my valor for yourself!" he declared as he dismounted his steed and ordered his army to stay back. _'Tch, you fool…you're already letting your anger get the better of you. One should always use any advantage given to him in battle. But, I'll play your game for now…makes your defeat all the sweeter.' _Ren thought a bit hypocritically as he readied his own spear and also told the others to wait. The two warriors walked up to each other and prepared for their bout.

"Humph…I admire your courage in facing me one-on-one, boy, but you are a fool if you believe that you can defeat me in such a way." Hua said, actually pitying that the teen was not on Dong Zhuo's side. He looked like he would've made a fine warrior someday. Oh, well; his loss. "I can beat you, and I will. It's just that simple(lol, quote from Nobunaga in SW)." Ren answered back, still taunting the man. "Your rampage ends here, Hua Xiong!" he finalized, getting into his ready stance. Hua Xiong mirrored his actions with his own, and get ready as well.

This was it…the duel was set to begin…

…now.

Notes (just kidding, I'm gonna get through this fight before ending the chapter. J)

(play either Thousand Foot Krutch - "Phenomenon" or Sum 41 - "We're All To Blame" your choice J)

Hua Xiong charged first, attacking with a long stab as if he was holding a two-handed lance. Ren easily dodged and parried with a horizontal slash, which Hua evaded by taking a wide step back. Now on the defensive, he was forced to block when the teen went for an overhead smash, the two getting into a lock of weapons. It didn't last long however, Hua easily surpassed Ren in physical brute force, and was quickly able to push him off, forcing the teen off-balance. Seizing the opportunity, the older man attacked once again, catching the teen with a slash on the exposed area of his chest.

Ren gritted his teeth in pain when he got the hit. It wasn't deep, nor was there much blood, but it was like a paper cut; it wasn't a serious injury, but it hurt like a b****. (I'm not above cursing, but for the sake of keeping this story T-rated for now, I won't say certain words yet.)

That didn't stop him, though, even when Hua continued his assault, suddenly melding into a furious pace. Ren could only just barely keep up, and when he attempted to counter with a vertical slash coming from below up, he got knocked back when the older man reversed his weapon around to block the attack and with the blunt end of his spear, struck the teen square in the chest. Ren recovered faster than expected however, and nailed Hua with a bladed blow that knocked his helmet off of his head and gave him a scar on his left eye. Discarding the matter of getting it back, he stared at the young teen in front of him with a contemplative look. Noting that Hua had stopped for now, Ren decided to take a quick rest as well, knowing that he could resume his attacks at any time.

'_Damn…I'm starting to see why our allies are having so much trouble dealing with this guy. He's tough…I'm keeping up with him, but only just. If that strike to the chest had been with the other end, I would've been a dead man.' _Ren solemnly thought, mentally thanking his luck that the hit was with the spear's blunt end. "I'm amazed you've lasted this long, especially at such a young age. But, this is where it ends for you. Give up and face your destiny!" Hua declared, now having gotten his second wind.

'_He's already going again? Great…looks like I need a boost. Hey, Lin, you there?' _he mentally questioned, searching for that familiar jump in his system that the source of his crimson eyes always gave him when needed. However, something was wrong…

…it never came.

Ren couldn't feel that special adrenaline rush that he always got whenever he faced a tough enemy, giving him the strength he needed to come out on top, or at least escape with his life. _'Lin, __**Lin**__? Are you there?' _he started to mentally yell, getting a cut on his left arm for his distraction. "What's wrong? Have you finally realized that you cannot win?" Hua yelled out, ready to end this battle.

Jin Zang couldn't help but be worried about Ren, seeing that his focus had deteriorated. _'Come on, kid, you can do this! You can't afford to lose!' _he mentally yelled, wishing that his nephew could hear his thoughts. As if that wish came true, Ren snapped back into position and stopped the lethal attack just in time. Jin couldn't see it, but there was a determined look on Ren's face.

'_So, this is a test…To battle against a strong opponent under my own power and ability…Thanks, Lin…you just opened my eyes to the truth…' _the teen thought mentally. (This will all be explained in the next chapter.)

The two enemies got into an exchange of blows that the soldiers around them could barely keep up with. They were amazed. This was a true one-on-one duel between two warriors…

Breaking the stalemate that they had gotten into, Ren charged forth this time, knocking Hua off balance with a well-placed blow, using the chance and giving the older man a decent gash across his chest, forcing him to stagger. His retaliation was cut off when a messenger suddenly appeared with an urgent report. "What is it? I'm busy at the moment!" he yelled, angry at the continuation of the duel being put on hold.

"Lord Hua Xiong! My apologies for interrupting your battle, but it seems that the Allied forces are breaking through our armies, and have nearly reached Si Shui Gate! Master Li Ru requests that you return to defend the gate immediately!" the soldier said, waiting for Hua's response. "Very well, tell Li Ru that I'll be there as soon as possible." Hua answered, the messenger nodding and leaving.

"Well then, young warrior, it seems luck has smiled upon you today. We shall continue our battle at Si Shui Gate." the man said, as he holstered his spear and prepared to retreat for now. "We're not done here yet, Hua Xiong!" Ren yelled out, getting ready to pursue. He didn't notice Hua making a non-verbal sign towards one of his archers, but he did take notice of the arrow that was suddenly fired and buried within his right arm, staying his hand and his pursuit. "Urgh…you coward!" Ren yelled out, angry that the duel would end in such a way and about the archer's interference. "Hah! All's fair in love and war, boy! You'd do well to remember that! Come men, we must protect Si Shui Gate!" he declared as he and his troops left the area. (end song)

Ren was about to give chase, but he was stopped by his uncle, who was worried about his nephew's current injuries. "Hold on there, kid. You can't go after him now. You're already hurt." Jin said, pointing to the arrow Ren just received to his bare arm. "What, this? This is nothing!" the teen yelled as he yanked the arrow out. Jin was quick to wrap up the now-bleeding wound as best he could. "Listen, you know and I know that he's too far gone by now, especially since he's on horseback. Besides, he said so himself. You'll fight him again once we get to Si Shui Gate." Jin continued, hoping to placate the nearly-seething young man.

Finally calming down, Ren let out a sigh at the situation. "Well, he's not attacking our camp anymore, but now he'll be back and recovered later on." he said solemnly, saddened that he couldn't finish off Hua Xiong here and now. "True, but you stopped him here on your own. That's something to be proud of. Next time, he'll be on the defensive, and it'll be more than just us standing against him." Jin responded, trying to cheer up his nephew. It worked for the moment. "You're right…but, I was…reckless in facing him alone. I may very well have been his next victim had luck not saved me twice today…" Ren continued, his face serious and despondent. "Come on, kid. Cheer up! Sulking isn't right for someone like you. Just make sure you take him down next time you fight him." Jin continued, unwilling to let his nephew merely sulk over his shortcomings.

"Heh, fine…So, what should we do next?" Ren asked, just before a messenger from the Allied forces arrived. He wore green, meaning that he came from Liu Bei. "Master Ren Jiang." he started, catching the others' attention. "What is it?" Ren asked, wondering why an Allied messenger was all the way out here. "A urgent message from Lord Liu Bei. It appears that Master Sun Jian's forces are in dire straits." the man reported, shocking Ren and the others. "What? What's the problem?" the teen asked. "His forces have been isolated from both the main army and the supply depot, which has also been surrounded by the enemy! They are in danger of being wiped out!" the man continued.

That was grim news indeed…both the coalition's advance force and supply depot were threatened to be annihilated. Without supplies, Sun Jian's army would be too weakened from hunger to advance any further, and the alliance would lose its main assault force. Failing to rescue them could mean defeat…

"What does Lord Liu Bei plan to do?" Jin asked, wanting to know what his lord's planned actions were so that he and Ren could act accordingly. "Our lord plans to rescue to supply depot, in order for them to resume the delivery of supplies to the advance force. He requests that you go and assist Master Sun Jian and his army." the messenger said, relaying Liu Bei's orders.

Ren was utterly shocked to his core at the 'request'. _'M-My lord…you knew…you truly believed that I would be able to drive away Hua Xiong, and then you assign me an even more important mission…I thank you for this opportunity…I shall __**not **__let you down!' _the teen warrior thought, determined to fulfill his lord's wishes. "Alright. Inform Lord Liu Bei that we'll head there right away!" he said, the messenger nodding and leaving. "Well then, shall we, uncle?" Ren continued, ready to set off once again. "Alright, kid. But I'm fighting with you this time. I won't let you upstage me!" Jin said, following his nephew's example. _'Although, it's probably already too late for that…I'm really proud of ya, Ren…' _he inwardly thought as the small force of twelve set off to their next mission.

'_Sun Ce…You'll be there, won't you? Knowing you, you wouldn't miss a battle like this for the world…I will protect you…I won't lose any of my friends this day!' _Ren thought, determined to rescue Sun Ce and the others from the enemy's clutches…

The battle against Dong Zhuo continues…

Notes

Alright, now this is the real end of the chapter. Man, I think this one's topped the final Yellow Turban chapter in length! Tough luck about Ren with Hua Xiong, but the opportunity for some payback will come soon…But, the next chapter will be about exactly what made Ren lose his focus in his first ever duel, and delve a little into the teen warrior's origins.

No new character ages for this one. Hua Xiong is major to be sure, but I won't go into anyone who isn't either a playable character from the DW series outside of Empires or one of my OC's.

KnightMan1890, signing off! Laters, everyone!


	10. A Heartfelt Talk

Hello, peoples! KnightMan1890 is back with yet another chapter of Chaos Reigns: RNH. I'm trying my best to tough out these updates before school starts. As it turns out, I made a miscalculation. School starts back up on August 6, making it _2_ weeks away, instead of the 3 that I had originally thought. Since I'll be a high school junior when that comes, my updates will most likely be limited to one per week, so I'll do what I can now. Anyways, this chapter will be about Ren's inner mindscape, and what made him lose focus in his duel against Hua Xiong. Nearly the entire chapter will be a flashback, so bear with me on it, please!

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my original character.

P.S. I highly recommend an Evanescence song for this chapter.

"speech"

'_thinking' _

"_inner speech" _

"**rage speech" **

(author's notes & comments)

((scene change))

previous chapter note

_**responses to reviews **_

_flashback_

_**narration **_

(Review responses…)

_Awesome PJOHarry _- _**I don't want to put words in your mouth, but I think you may have been tense because of the difficulty Ren was having in his first-ever duel with someone in a true battle; or possibly because of how much crap the coalition is going through so soon into said battle. I got you with that near-cliffhanger, huh? I actually was planning to end the chapter there, but my brain was on a roll yesterday, and I wanted to get the duel out of the way so I could slam out the rest of Si Shui Gate in Chapter 11. On that note, I hope I did okay for that. It was my first drawn-out fight scene, and I was a bit anxious while typing it. Oh, and you aren't the only one reading this; 6 other people either have my story alerted or favorited. You're just the only one who's reviewed my story so far, and I thank you for your support. Hope to read more chapters of your story soon. **_

(Last time, on Chaos Reigns…)

Ren was utterly shocked to his core at the 'request'. _'M-My lord…you knew…you truly believed that I would be able to drive away Hua Xiong, and then you assign me an even more important mission…I thank you for this opportunity…I shall __**not **__let you down!' _the teen warrior thought, determined to fulfill his lord's wishes. "Alright. Inform Lord Liu Bei that we'll head there right away!" he said, the messenger nodding and leaving. "Well then, shall we, uncle?" Ren continued, ready to set off once again. "Alright, kid. But I'm fighting with you this time. I won't let you upstage me!" Jin said, following his nephew's example. _'Although, it's probably already too late for that…I'm really proud of ya, Ren…' _he inwardly thought as the small force of twelve set off to their next mission.

'_Sun Ce…You'll be there, won't you? Knowing you, you wouldn't miss a battle like this for the world…I will protect you…I won't lose any of my friends this day!' _Ren thought, determined to rescue Sun Ce and the others from the enemy's clutches…

The battle against Dong Zhuo continues…

(And now…)

_**The duel between Ren Jiang and Hua Xiong seems to have ended in a draw, for a manner of speaking. Before we get to the next part of the battle for Si Shui Gate, however…**_

_**Let us look into the mind of our young teenage warrior, and see what we find…It seems that Ren Jiang's origins and the 'source' of his crimson eyes are quite interesting…**_

'_Damn…all this time…I hadn't even realized what I'd been doing…I had never even considered her feelings about it all…' _Ren thought as he traveled with his uncle towards the camp of Sun Jian and his forces.

However, one must wonder…who is this 'her' who he refers to…? Let us find out, shall we?

((warning: very long flashback))

_'He's already going again? Great…looks like I need a boost. Hey, Lin, you there?' he mentally questioned, searching for that familiar jump in his system that the source of his crimson eyes always gave him when needed. However, something was wrong…_

_…it never came._

_Ren couldn't feel that special adrenaline rush that he always got whenever he faced a tough enemy, giving him the strength he needed to come out on top, or at least escape with his life. 'Lin, **Lin**? Are you there?' he started to mentally yell, getting a cut on his left arm for his distraction. _

_However, this is what hadn't been seen, nor heard, nor even known of by any except Ren himself…_

_…and of course…what was inside…_

_'What's going on…? Why won't she respond? Did something go wrong?' Ren mentally questioned, now having regressed into his mindscape for reasons currently unknown._

_Looking around, all he saw was…white. Simply white…everywhere around him. No matter where he turned, all he could see was the blank color, as if he wasn't truly moving at all. _

_"Why yes, Ren, something has gone wrong…" a strange voice spoke within his mind, but…_

_…it wasn't his…_

_Although, he **did** know just who it belonged to. 'Oh, Lin, there you are. What's going on here, and why can't I see you…or anything else, for that matter?' Ren questioned, trying to find his tenant._

_"All shall be revealed in time…but before that, do you remember the day when we first met each other?" the voice, decidedly female, asked. 'Of course, how could I forget?' Ren answered, thinking back to that experience…_

_((warning: flashback within a flashback))_

_It was the summer of the year 184. Only a single month had passed since the quelling of the Yellow Turban Rebellion. Although the Imperial Han still faced several problems with internal matters, the land still enjoyed a time of peace._

_However, that peace had been quickly shattered for Ren Jiang, when he was kidnapped and taken prisoner by remnants of the Yellow Turbans. Unbeknownst to the young teen, this was actually the second time that such an experience had happened to him. His mind, rather than trying to deal with the traumatic experience once again, invariably shut down in order to repress the memories that were threatening to surge forth from all those years ago._

_This subconscious action ended up dragging the boy's consciousness into his own mind…_

_((Mindscape))_

_Much like his current state of mind, when he first appeared there back then, it was entirely a blank white all over. He couldn't see a thing beyond it, perhaps there wasn't even anything there. The boy would've bet that if he looked up, he would only barely be able to see his snow-colored hair from the outline around it. _

_'Hello…?' the moderately frightened boy asked, his voice echoing across the seemingly endless landscape. 'Is anyone here…?' he continued, wondering what was going on. 'Where am I?' he asked no one in particular, although someone did answer._

_"You are within your own mind, young one." a new voice answered for him, causing the boy to look around, slightly fearfully. 'H-Huh? Who said that…? Who are you?' Ren asked, wondering how he had gotten into his mind like this, and how someone else was here._

_"There is no reason to be afraid of me, young Ren Jiang, I mean no harm to you." the voice continued, although it was **much **closer than before, and apparently female, if the tone was anything to go by. Turning around, the boy was about to ask how this person knew his name, but any and all words died in his throat when he saw this…this…_

_…angel…that had appeared within his mind._

_For his 9-year-old mind, he was still quite too young to think of the opposite gender in "that" way yet, but he definitely wouldn't deny that this woman looked to be the very **definition **of beautiful…_

_Her hair was of a light-blue shade, almost like that of ice, and while some bangs hung over her face, most stretched all the way down behind her, just past her waist(not that Ren looked down in **that** particular area). She wore golden bracelets on her left wrist, the other one bare, which drew his attention to the blue, somewhat plant-like markings on her left forearm and on the side of her stomach, which was completely bare._

_She had a violet shade of eyes that the boy just barely caught dance with amusement at him glancing at her upper body area and immediately turning away, a red-hot blush prominent on his face. The only thing that the lady wore in that area was a cerulean-blue neck cloth that doubled as a large x-shaped bandage, big enough to fully cover her modesty, but small enough to show plenty of cleavage. The rest of her body down to her waist had nothing covering it, sans the aforementioned mark. _

_Going past her waist this time, he saw that her lower body was covered entirely by a purple cloak, not much of a different shade than her eyes. But, for some reason, whether it was a trick of all the abundant white light in the area or not, he could have sworn that her cloak was…**glittering**…as she walked towards him, the light shards trailing after it as she went along. This bottom-wear was preceded by a separate bandage on her waist, possibly being what covered her modesty **down there **as well. _

_To take a look at this woman's overall body structure, she had creamy-white skin, and a womanly definition in her muscles that you would expect from a female fighter. She had lean, slender legs, as what could be seen from the bulges of movement under it, and as near as Ren could tell, she was barefoot, since he didn't hear that familiar patter of any kind of footwear against the ground. (for a full mental picture of this woman's appearance, think of Luna from Tales of Symphonia, only with blue hair and tattoo-like markings, you can look her up if you want)_

_Subconsciously taking another decent glance at her body, the boy turned his head back to the side once again, cheeks inflamed. The woman couldn't help but giggle at how he took a single look at her, turned as red as a tomato, and looked away within seconds of each other. His childish innocence was quite amusing. Catching his attention with the noise, the boy somehow managed to keep his full-on blush in check this time, and decided to come out with his previously unspoken question._

_'Um, I don't mean to be rude, miss, but may I ask who you are, and why you're in my…mind, as you say it is?' Ren asked as politely as he could, his mother having drilled it into his head to be courteous to any female he met unless he had a **very **good reason not to. _

_"Well, young one, the answer to that is quite a long explanation. Perhaps you should sit down as I tell you the reason for my being here." she said gently, the boy as she had asked and sitting down. "To start, it all began when you were only 3 years of age…" she began, going into a very detailed explanation of who she was, why she was here, and how she was connected to Ren. (Unfortunately, I am much too lazy to type the entire thing, but I'll have Ren here summarize the whole thing in a moment.)_

_((timeskip; a while later))_

_'So, let me get this straight…your name's Mei Lin, and you're an ice deity, along with being a near-direct descendent of **the **Empress Nu Wa herself.' Ren started, his young mind still reeling from all of the information. Mei Lin nodded. 'And the reason you're within my mind is because some extremist cult kidnapped me when I was only **three **years old, and through a process that neither of us can even begin to explain, used a ritual that managed to capture you and seal you within my body.' Ren continued, getting another nod from the goddess. 'When you tried to break free from your "prison", the power rush caused me to go insane and butcher everyone in the entire area, that being all the members of said cult, this event also being the reason my hair is white and eyes are blue.' the boy kept going, another nod. _

_'During the Yellow Turban Rebellion, you were that strange voice in my head that nearly took me over in my fight against Zhang Jiao, but as it turns out, that was just a test for you to see if my mind was strong enough to handle your power; a test which I barely passed only with support from Lord Liu Bei and Sun Ce, followed by the last memory of my parents.' Ren continued again, garnering another nod. _

_'Although I'm trying my best to not fall unconscious from information overload, I have to ask…are there others like me?' the boy asked, hoping he didn't faint before getting his answer. "I truly have no idea. If that cult was able to summon and seal me, perhaps they could gotten others as well from years past. If you are in the vicinity of one, I may be able to sense him or her." Mei answered, basically a 'maybe'. _

_((inner flashback end))_

_'And that was when you offered to allow me portions of your power at times in order to prepare myself for the hardships ahead. Well frankly, this fight with Hua Xiong's been my hardest yet, and I haven't felt anything coming from you. Is something the matter?' the teenage Ren asked, slightly miffed at the lack of support. _

_Seemingly ignoring the question, the goddess appeared in front of him, the same looks as before. "Hmm…you seem to have grown more arrogant since we've begun to know each other." she pointed out, a bit of annoyance in her tone. 'Well, I do contain the power of an almighty goddess within me; I think I have the right to be a little arrogant, huh?' he said, smirking a bit. "Hmph, perhaps…and I'll take that compliment in stride, but…" she started, but stopped for a bit to think on her next words. 'But…what?' Ren asked, wanting to know if there was a problem, so he could do what he can to solve it._

_"I do believe that you have started to take my assistance for granted…" she said, shocking Ren. 'What? No! I'd never…' he started to say before she cut him off. "Think about it, Ren Jiang; when is the last time you faced someone who you deemed to be a powerful opponent **without** using my power?" she said, causing him to regress into some serious thought. After a long while, his eyes snapped open in shocked realization. _

_She was right…he had borrowed her strength against every moderately strong enemy he'd faced since the fight against Zhang Jiao and the Yellow Turbans, perhaps without even realizing it._

_'Y-You're right…' he lamented in a defeated tone as he slumped to the floor. 'I'm such a fool…I've been abusing the once in a lifetime chance I've been given…by a goddess, no less…' he continued, burying his face in his hands. "Don't be so hard on yourself." Lin said as she wrapped her arms around his neck from behind in an embrace. "Your mind and body has been constantly adapting to the power, but I am disappointed that you allowed yourself to become dependent on it as if it were a drug." she continued, expressing her dislike over Ren's recent actions, but felt his regret over the emphatic link that they shared. _

_'I-Is there any way you can forgive me? I know I don't deserve it at all…but you've been such a good friend to me all these years…I don't want to lose the bond that I truly believe has formed between us…please…Give me a chance to honestly prove myself worthy…like Lord Liu Bei has done…' Ren pleaded with her, not wanting to lose her after all this time. "Then answer me this…truthfully…are you begging for this chance over me, or for the power that I grant?" Lin asked, wanting only the absolute honesty from him. _

_'To give you the absolute truth…a part of me is doing this only for the power…but…!' Ren started, cutting off the goddess as she was about to retort. 'You have proven to be the best ally and friend a person could ask for…not just for the power, but for the guidance and friendship that you have given me…I don't ever…**ever**…wish to lose that…I shall never forgive myself for taking you for granted…but I swear…on my life and **soul**…' he began, causing Lin's eyes to widen in shock. '…that I will do anything that is possibly within my power…my **own **power…anything **at all**…to gain your trust back…The relationship that I have with you…is a bond that I simply can't bear to lose…!' he said with absolute conviction. _

_The goddess, shocked beyond all recognition, could only look into his eyes in order to ascertain the truth. Staring deep within him, she could tell that he was telling the truth…in all honesty, she didn't even need to peer into his soul to know…she could just **hear **that every single **word **came from the absolute truth deep within him that she could see through his now-openly crying eyes. _

_Seeing this, she could only embrace him tighter than she ever had before, her own eyes beginning to tear up at his vow to her. Neither of them knew how long they were holding each other, but both of them did know this…_

_Their relationship would most likely never be the same…_

_((timeskip))_

_An unknown, but long period of time later, the two finally released their heartfelt embrace, with Ren leaving his mindscape in order to finish his battle with Hua Xiong. He fought with renewed vigor, and a strength with the knowledgethat he was fighting under his own power…_

_Not Lin's borrowed strength, but **his **power and ability…_

_And that made him feel batter than he ever had before._

_"Thank you, Ren…from the bottom of my very heart and soul…" Lin said, before disappearing into the back of the teen's mind, waiting for the next time she would be needed…_

_Although, she figured that wouldn't be for quite a while…_

Notes

Wow. Just wow. I've made some personal fics shared only between me and my friends before, but this is very easily the most I've ever focused on romance in a single chapter. Plus, I never imagined it to be this long, especially when I skipped the long, detailed explanation. Shoot, and I was originally planning for a mother-son relationship at first. I guess my imagination ran away with me big time here. Methinks I'll have to add an OC/OC pairing to the list, making it now _three_ for our hero.

Anyways, the continuation of the Si Shui Gate battle will continue next chapter. What happens when Ren reunites with Sun Ce and his father? Find out, soon!

Character Ages  
>Mei Lin: too high to be known (but don't tell her I said that -_-)<br>Zhang He(since I forgot about him last chapter…): 23

KnightMan1890, signing off once again! See ya!


	11. Rescue Sun Jian's Forces!

I'm back, folks. KnightMan1890 is here with another chapter of CR: RNH. Now that I've gotten the extremely emotional interlude chapter out of the way, it's time to continue with the battle of Si Shui Gate. I'm hoping to end this fight here, and get to Hu Lao Gate in the next chapter; well, let's see what happens…

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my original character.

"speech"

'_thinking' _

"_inner speech" _

"**rage speech" **

(author's notes & comments)

((scene change))

previous chapter note

_**responses to reviews **_

_flashback_

_**narration **_

Review Responses

_Awesome PJOHarry - __**That's too bad about your story. You thought he was calling himself a tool? Wow...that would raise some eyebrows., wouldn't it? And, DANG IT! I told you not to tell her! *runs from Mei after she attempts to freeze me to death***_

(Last time, on Chaos Reigns…)

An unknown, but long period of time later, the two finally released their heartfelt embrace, with Ren leaving his mindscape in order to finish his battle with Hua Xiong. He fought with renewed vigor, and a strength that he used with the knowledgethat he was fighting under his own power…

Not Lin's borrowed strength, but **his **power and ability…

And that made him feel batter than he ever had before.

"Thank you, Ren…from the bottom of my very heart and soul…" Lin said, before disappearing into the back of the teen's mind, waiting for the next time she would be needed…

Although, she figured that wouldn't be for quite a while…

(And now…)

_**Trust…it can be a powerful thing, but our teenage warrior has just learned to not take it for granted…After all, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.**_

_**Closer to his tenant than ever before, it is now time for Ren Jiang to save Sun Jian and his forces from the clutches of the enemy…**_

((Central Battlefield - Sun Jian's Camp))

(play DW7 BGM - "Isolation")

"I-I'm so…hungry…" a soldier said, stopping for a scant second to hold his grumbling stomach. "Have the supplies still not arrived…? I'm starving!" another said, nearly collapsing to the ground from a lack of food.

And they weren't the only ones having trouble. Their actions and grievances were mirrored by countless others throughout the course of the battle thus far. Sun Jian and his forces found themselves caught in an extremely dangerous situation.

As the advance force for the Coalition, they struck out first with the order to weaken the enemy's resolve. However, that plan had backfired when enemy morale shot up thanks to the efforts of the warrior known as Hua Xiong. Although he had been apparently forced to retreat en route to the Allied main camp due to a last-minute defense, it did little to help their problems.

The real problem was that they had been cut off from the main army by the enemy assault, and were currently unable to receive supplies from the force led by Yuan Shu. Hunger and fatigue were becoming increasingly prevalent throughout their troops, causing morale to drop at a steady pace. "Come on, men! Remember, we are the proud troops of Lord Sun Jian!" one soldier yelled out, trying his best to rally the others. It didn't do much, but it was enough to inspire the men to at least continue to fight as best they can, however meager their efforts may have become at this point. By now, it was most likely only due to their pride that they kept going.

Sun Jian, he himself not merely standing idly by, cut down several enemy soldiers before turning to his son, Sun Ce. "Ce, how are the troops doing?" he asked, although he basically knew the answer already. Ce dodged a sloppy sword slash and knocked out the unfortunate enemy with a tonfa to the face before answering. "Um…not good, Pop! If those supplies don't get here soon, I think we just might be finished!" the son said, unnerved at the situation he and his family & friends had found themselves in.

Normally, Sun Ce would _never _even attempt to believe the thought that he, nor Sun Jian's army for that matter, would ever lose a battle like this. Sure, the possible outcome had occurred to him many a time, but he always shrugged it off, seeing as he liked having a challenge within the fights he got into, knowing that it would be all the sweeter when he and his allies came out on top.

But this time…he was absolutely sure that they were in some _major _trouble, and needed to either get some help, or receive those supplies _fast_. _'Although,' _he idly thought, _'I wonder who stopped that Hua Xiong guy…' _he mentally continued, wondering how strong the allies from the other forces were.

"Lord Sun Jian, this enemy assault is relentless. Without the supplies, we'll need to find a way to meet up with an allied unit, or we _will _be forced into retreat!" said the newest officer to the army, smashing a couple of soldiers overhead with his staff.

This man's name was Zhou Yu, a childhood friend of Sun Ce. After the Yellow Turban Rebellion and Dong Zhuo's subsequent rise to power, he came to serve Sun Jian in order to give his aid against the threat to the Imperial Han and the land that the tyrant became. (no idea if this is his actual backstory or not, but it's what I'm using) His talented mind and quickly-gained friendship with Sun Ce helped to give him a swift rise through the ranks as an officer.

Zhou Yu, at first glance, would seem feminine to the untrained eye. In all honesty, that is true, but any who know him or hear his voice(or can simply tell through sight alone, a rarity among people), easily know that he is of the male gender. His hair was a very dark brown, almost black color, and was smoothed down, stretching to his upper back. He wore an elaborate outfit, the main colors being a separation of red, purple, and white with gold highlights throughout; although, his combat boots were a stark black. His outer vest collar was upturned, the opening revealing a part of the black and white layer underneath it. He also wore black gloves that completely covered his hands, and the ornate designs on various parts of his outfit seemed to resemble that of fire. His face was very young, looking to be around the same age as Sun Ce or Ren Jiang. His body was lean, but defined enough for some of his muscles to be seen through his clothing.

Anyways, Sun Jian nodded at the report, grimacing at the situation. _'Dong Zhuo's tyranny must be ended; for my children's generation, if not my own…' _he thought, silently contemplating on how they would get out of this mess. _'But first, we have to beat this problem we're in. We sent out the call for reinforcements, but…' _Jian mentally trailed off, glancing around at his soldiers, who looked like they would collapse at any second. _'Who knows if they'll even get here in time…' _

Meanwhile, back with Sun Ce, he was getting grilled by Huang Gai on his lack of faith. "Don't talk like that, boy! Reinforcements will arrive soon, we have to hold out just a little while longer!" he said, batting away a few soldiers with his 'club'. Ce, spin-kicking another one, lightly scratched the back of his head at Huang's scolding tone. "I guess you're right; but still, I sure wish they'd hurry up!" the teen continued, knocking out another who had tried to sneak up on him. "Don't worry, Sun Ce. Our time will come soon enough. We must only be patient." Zhou Yu chimed in as he kicked a man towards the ground with an unexpected grace.

Ce, however, only barely heard him, as he was in one of his rare deep-thought moments. _'Man, this has dragged on long enough…Our men can't possibly hold on much longer at this rate. Zhou Yu's a good friend and all, but…I really wish that Ren was here…' _he thought solemnly, having kept the same-aged boy in the back of his mind at all times so he wouldn't forget about him.

The current wave was somehow defeated, but yet another one showed up in its place, this time led by the officers whose forces had stopped their advance in the first place, Zhao Cen and Niou Fu, two generals in Dong Zhuo's army. "Well, well. Looks like you've managed to last. Quite surprising, but…" Zhao started, looking towards his fellow general to finish. "…without supplies, you're nothing but sitting ducks! The road ends here for you!" Niou finished, a smirk on both his and his partner's faces.

However, what they didn't know about…was that reinforcements had finally arrived for Sun Jian and his forces.

…and they had come in the form of a particular teenage warrior, his uncle, and their small force…

"_Are you sure about this, Ren?" _Mei asked, watching as her 'jailor'was perched on top of the walls to where Sun Jian's army was encamped. He had arrived just soon enough to witness the generals themselves go into the fray, and he wasn't liking how the situation had turned out one bit. _'Of course, this way, I have the element of surprise. We have to break this stranglehold and get those supplies to Sun Jian. Uncle should be waiting close by for my signal.' _Ren answered, the 'signal' being whenever he decided to _jump _down into the middle of the enemy formation, and take out both of the leading generals in a single swift stroke.

"_A surprise to be sure, but I think you're just trying to show off in front of Sun Ce." _Mei said, a bit of amusement showing in her tone. _'And? I won't deny that I am, but we both know that this is the only way to attack until Lord Liu Bei shows up with the supplies. Adding only 12 more people wouldn't make much of a difference in a headlong rush.' _Ren responded, not bothering to shrug off Mei's accusation.

Mei shook her head at her container, even though she did agree with his reasoning. A serious warrior though he was, he was also still a 15-year-old…Oh well; at least he was honest about it.

Giving his uncle the 'ready' signal, Ren holstered his spear, thumbed his sword out of its sheath just enough to allow a quick draw, and steeled his nerves. He had to make this a perfect drop. Failure was simply _not _an option.

He _refused _to allow Sun Jian's forces to be routed today.

Completely prepared, Ren took in a deep breath, calmed down his anxiousness to nearly nothing, and with a mighty, but silent _leap_…

…descended upon his unsuspecting enemy…

Notes (Nah, just kidding again, the chapter would be too short if I did that. Well, I'm fairly sure my readers are tired of these near-cliffhangers, so I'll stop with them…for now J)

Ren waited until the last possible second to fully draw his sword and strike; in doing so…

…managed to hit both of his targets with a near _perfect _precision that not even he was expecting…His plan was actually to just down one, then simply turn and get the other who would most likely lose those precious seconds of reaction time in shock over his partner's sudden death.

As it turned out, his descent was at such an angle that his quick-draw sword slash managed to kill _both _of the generals in a single stroke.

Ren was surprised at the unexpected development, but he sure wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth, and those scant seconds that would normally have gone to taking down the leader who survived the assault…instead was spent with Ren quickly sheathing his sword, grabbing his spear, and swiftly performing a long horizontal slash complete with a 360 degree turn, downing at least 10 soldiers along with injuring several others.

A perfect diversion and assassination…and it doubled as a pretty cool entrance, too.

How was it a diversion, one may ask…Think of this. The enemy, after overcoming their shock at losing their leaders so suddenly, now focused all of their attention on the new threat who had just as suddenly appeared within their formation. They were about to attack, but one thing stayed their hands…

…his eyes…They were still the normal blue, but when the young man lifted his head to look at the enemy soldiers, they _froze_. (pun very much intended J)

Those cerulean-blue orbs of his were filled with such _coldness_, it made all the snow and ice of winter around them feel like burning lava. The breaking point for them was when a scowl appeared on his face and those icy, hard orbs suddenly flashed into…a _crimson-red _color…but only for a moment.

…that look was one that just screamed, _'Try a move against me, and your next.' _

Unwilling to somehow anger this new enemy any further, the soldiers immediately turned tail and ran…right into Jin Zang and his small amount of troops, who had received plenty of time to set up at the rear of the enemy formation. Attacking, the ambush tore into the demoralized enemy troops with extreme ease; only a few managed to escape unhurt, but neither Ren nor Jin paid them any mind. The only thing that mattered now was that they had reached Sun Jian's forces in time, and they were safe.

"Tch…cowards! Go back to your homes and hide!" Ren yelled after them, relishing in fact that the enemy soldiers had simply run for their lives even after the counter-ambush was set and sprung. _'You didn't need to do that flare, Mei. They all ran away.' _Ren said to his tenant, inwardly pouting a bit. _"I know that you would've tried to fight them off. I just wanted to make things easier for you.' _Mei answered, garnering a raised eyebrow from the teen. _'I thought that was what we were trying to avoid, me using your power for such trivial matters?' _he asked, causing the age-old goddess to stutter a bit. _"W-Well, I…I just didn't want you to do something reckless, again. You already had one close call with Hua Xiong, remember?" _she retorted, trying to mask her embarrassment at her words being thrown back at her.

'_Yeah, whatever, you know you love me.' _Ren said back, intending it as a joke, but he got quite an…_interesting _smile on her face as a response. _"Oh, do I? Do you intend to prove this statement to me anytime soon?" _Mei asked, knowingly teasing him, his face turning a bright red at the insinuation behind the question. _'You perv, I'm only 15 years old.' _Ren said back, face still flushed. _"And you're the one who charged headlong into battle alone at the age of 9. You're more than considered to be an adult in this day and age. Besides, you're also the one who's turning redder than your spear color. Is someone having __**naughty **__thoughts about little old me?" _Mei went back, that blasted teasing tone still permeating her voice. _'S-Shut up.' _Ren said with finality as he cut the mental connection, causing Mei to giggle. The little wordplay fights she had with her container were very amusing to her.

Coming back to reality, Ren lowered the redness from his face as best he could before turning towards the flabbergasted forces of Sun Jian. They couldn't believe what they had just seen…a single warrior, apparently an ally, had just _dropped _in from the sky and completely reversed their situation within a matter of seconds.

He even had a backup plan in case his initial assault hadn't worked…they saw the small ambush party attack the enemy soldiers as they had attempted to retreat. Speaking of which, the troops who had appeared in said ambush were just approaching from behind the man, filing into a line on either side of him, creating a rather intimidating image despite the fact that there were only 12 people altogether.

The two sides merely stared at each other for a while, Sun Ce especially giving a moderately hard look towards the white-haired, blue-eyed leader of the group. He was definitely familiar, but he just couldn't place exactly who- _'Wait! White hair and blue eyes…there's only one guy I've ever known who's looked like that…! It's him…Ren's back!' _Ce mentally yelled, about to greet his old friend until the noise of a gate opening caught the attention of both parties.

Looking towards the north gate, everyone tensed up, ready for a renewed assault by the enemy forces, however…What was truly behind that gate, only a few had expected…

The forces of Liu Bei had arrived, supplies in tow…

Notes

Okay. Real end of the chapter right here. The next one will finally end the Si Shui Gate battle and move on to Hu Lao. The witty banter 'war' between Ren and Mei was actually done on a whim. I felt that my first draft of the chapter was too short, being that it didn't involve anything about said banter or Ren's surprise attack, only that he and his uncle had assaulted the enemy force from behind and allowed Sun Jian's forces to break free. This final draft was about a page and a half longer.

Character Ages  
>Sun Jian: 35<br>Huang Gai: 45  
>Sun Ce &amp; Zhou Yu: 15<p>

*Mei yelling* _"__**KnightMan!**__ I'm not done with you yet!"  
><em>  
>Aw jeez! *rapidly* KnightMan1890, signing off, see ya later! *runs for life*<p> 


	12. Si Shui Falls

Waz up, y'alls? This is KnightMan1890 coming at ya with yet another chapter of Chaos Reigns. This update will finally end the Si Shui Gate fight and move on to the infamous Hu Lao Gate. Unfortunately, though, this one will also be pretty short compared to the other battle chapters. Oh, well. Ren meets Sun Ce for the first time in six years! What will happen? Find out…

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my original character.

"speech"

'_thinking' _

"_inner speech" _

"**rage speech" **

(author's notes & comments)

((scene change))

previous chapter note

_**responses to reviews **_

_flashback_

_**narration **_

Review Responses  
><em>Awesome PJOHarry - <em>_**I see you're also a fan of Zhou Yu, apparently. I myself hold him in one of my top 5 favorite DW characters(mainly because I'm possibly biased towards any staff wielders, which Zhou became from DW6 onward). Ren never denied that he wanted to show off when Mei pointed it out to him. That was more of an ulterior motive for his actions there(and for the fact that I wanted more material for the chapter). And Mei will NEVER get me! *looks around in a panicked fashion before going into the house, locking all possible means of entrance* **_

(Last time, on Chaos Reigns…)

The two sides merely stared at each other for a while, Sun Ce especially giving a moderately hard look towards the white-haired, blue-eyed leader of the group. He was definitely familiar, but he just couldn't place exactly who- _'Wait! White hair and blue eyes…there's only one guy I've ever known who's looked like that…! It's him…Ren's back!' _Ce mentally yelled, about to greet his old friend until the noise of a gate opening caught the attention of both parties.

Looking towards the north gate, everyone tensed up, ready for a renewed assault by the enemy forces, however…What was truly behind that gate, only a few had expected…

The forces of Liu Bei had arrived, supplies in tow…

(And now…)

_**The dire situation that Sun Jian and his forces faced had finally been averted, thanks to a much needed interference by the contingent led by Ren Jiang and Jin Zang.**_

_**Now that Liu Bei's forces have finally arrived with the ever-important supplies, it seems that the tide of the battle had finally swung in the favor of the Allied forces.**_

_**However, the Coalition still had one matter to resolve before proceeding to the infamous Hu Lao Gate…**_

((Central Battlefield))

(play DW7 BGM - "Siege")

Sun Jian's army had finally received the supplies and averted danger, thanks to the efforts of Liu Bei, his brothers, Ren Jiang, and the rest of their forces.

The red-wearing troops were more than happy to take a break and fill their starving bellies. Now teamed with the whole of Liu Bei's forces, the combined force enjoyed a small rest, in order to partake in food and reinvigorate themselves for the rest of the battle ahead.

Ren Jiang decided to use this chance to catch up with his old friend, Sun Ce.

The white-haired warrior was sitting down with Ce and Zhou Yu, who Ce had introduced him to not long ago, and he was eating his own portion of the meal in order to rejuvenate his energy lost during the past battle. Throughout the conversation between them, Ren found Zhou to be quite a refined and calm individual; a far cry from Ce, who was still just as boisterous and energetic as when they last met each other; while Ren, according to Mei, was a bit in-between the two on the topic of mannerisms. Together, they formed a kind of balance that only a certain amount of friends would have. The three did share in a laugh when they found out that each of them were of the same age.

"That was quite an entrance you made, Ren. I was impressed." Zhou said, remarking on how the teen had first arrived before them. "Yeah, that was awesome! You just took out those guys in one shot! I bet you didn't even break a sweat out there!" Ce said, his usual demeanor shining through as always. Ren lightly scratched the back of his head at the praise. "It was nothing, really. I couldn't let you guys have to tough it out through all that alone. Although, I didn't really expect them to turn and run…" he said, although knowing the reason as to why they did such a thing.

"They were probably just too scared to try and fight you after what you did!" Ce said, presenting his own thoughts on the reasoning. "I agree. Dong Zhuo's army is made up of nothing but dishonorable villains; cowards who turn and run at the first sign of trouble, such as a warrior of actual skill like yourself." Zhou said. "I just do what I have to do. Any show of pure talent or ability is merely a bonus." Ren continued, trying to keep his innate arrogance in check. "Perhaps, but word has gotten around about the fact that you single-handedly repelled Hua Xiong from our main camp. One of Commander Yuan Shao's own officers sent out the report personally when it was discovered." Zhou continued, surprising the two listeners.

"Oh, that was you? Haha, nice job, Ren!" Ce said, bumping fists with the blue-eyed teen. "I concur. An excellent show of valor on your part." a familiar deep-voice said as the three teens turned to its source. It turned out to be Guan Yu who had spoken, approaching the small group while accompanied by Liu Bei, Zhang Fei, and surprisingly, Sun Jian and Huang Gai. "Good job, kid! I knew you had it in ya all along." Fei said, his respect for the boy slightly increased. "Yes. I am glad to see that my trust in you was not misplaced." Bei said, genuinely happy that his newest officer had succeeded in his mission. "I am honored by your praise, my lords. I will continue to do my best to serve you." Ren said, slightly bowing and using his serious tone of voice generally reserved for Liu Bei and his brothers.

"No need to be so uptight! You know that we are all allies here." Jian said, lightly chuckling and giving Ren a solid clasp on the shoulder. "Of course." the teen lightly chuckled back, relaxing a bit. The group got a good laugh out of that.

((several minutes later))

Break time was over. The remaining supplies had been rationed and sent to the main camp for Yuan Shao and Cao Cao's forces. The group of the eight officers had prepared themselves and readied their respective weapons.

"Alright! Our stomachs are full, and we're ready for some more action! You all set, kid?" Fei said, patting his belly with his free hand, the other holding his double-edged pike behind his head. Ren nodded in answer, holding his spear at the ready.

"Sun Ce, Zhou Yu…" Ren started, the two coming over to him, each having their full gear and weapons on hand and ready. "I may not have known you for very long…but I feel that you're two the best allies and friends I've had, and will have in the future…" he said wholeheartedly, surprising the others. "If you will, I would like this to become our true start into whatever lies beyond…" he continued, raising his spear up high. "…to end the tyranny of Dong Zhuo for good…together!" he finalized with absolute conviction. "…to create a land where all can live in peace and harmony…together!" Zhou declared, expanding the tripartite vow and raising his staff to meet Ren's spear. "…and to show the entire world what we're made of…together!" Ce proclaimed, finalizing the three-way oath by tacking one of his tonfas against the other two's weapons.

The sun seemed to glitter and reflect off their weapons at that very moment, creating a picture-perfect image that many would not forget for a long time.

Liu Bei and his brothers couldn't help but be proud of the kinship their young friend had created. It reminded them of their own oath that they themselves had made in the peach garden, their vow to fight on the behalf of the land and its people.

(play DW7 BGM - "Massacre Theater")

"Well? Come on, let's go!" Ce told his new sworn allies as he started to rush off in the direction of Si Shui Gate. "Hey, wait up!" Ren yelled, following after him. Zhou lightly shook his head at the natures of the two. _'Those two should be brothers, the way they act. Well, I suppose I can't allow them to go alone.' _he thought as he left to chase after them.

"Look at them, Huang Gai…the youth of today shall become the heroes of tomorrow." Jian said, looking at the rapidly disappearing visages of his son and two friends. "That may be true, but we can't let them outshine us just yet. We still have to show them that us veterans can still get the job done!" Huang said, not quite ready to fade into history just yet. "Hahaha! Indeed. Well then, let us fight!" the Chang Sha prefect said as he and Huang set off towards the site of the next battle. Liu Bei and his brothers followed soon after.

((Si Shui Gate))

"Master Hua Xiong, the enemy has withstood our attack and broken our defenses. They are marching here at an extremely fast pace. What shall we do?" Xu Rong, another officer in Dong Zhuo's army asked, looking towards the defender of Si Shui Gate.

Hua didn't answer for a while, instead staring off into distance where the first few enemies could be seen. Surprisingly enough, the one at the head was that white-haired teen he fought on his rush to the Allied main camp. _'So, he is coming first, I see…Hmm?' _he thought as he focused further.

Looking more closely, he saw that behind the young man and the two flanking him was…

…the Allied army in nearly its entirety!

"All units, full retreat! Fall back to Hu Lao Gate, and close Si Shui behind you!" Hua yelled out, the army immediately responding to his order. "Master Hua Xiong, do to truly intend to…?" Xu asked, shocked at this sudden turn of events. "Yes. The only way Si Shui will fall shall be through my death, and mine alone." Hua answered, fully prepared to shoulder the massive responsibility he had just given himself. "You can't possibly defend against this entire army on your own! Only…_he _would be able to manage that…" Xu said, thinking of Dong's secret weapon.

"I know…and he will be our only chance should I fall here." Hua said, knowing full well what his situation was. He noticed that the troops had completely fallen beyond Si Shui, and were waiting for the order to close the gates. "Now leave! This is my battle." Hua ordered, Xu nodding and complying immediately.

The warrior turned to face the approaching Allied army…

((with Ren, Ce, and Zhou))

"Huh? Why did the enemy retreat already?" Ce asked, wondering where all of them had gone. "It appears that they've decided the defense of Si Shui Gate has become a lost cause." Zhou answered, giving a perfectly logical reason. "That may be, but it looks like someone was a bit stubborn…" Ren said, looking at the lone figure standing in the way with the closed Si Shui behind him.

"So, we meet again, young warrior. I underestimated you last time, but I shall now hold nothing back!" Hua said, getting into his ready stance, spear in hand. Ren, however, took a moment before doing the same.

Although Hua was acting with his usual bravado, the teen could see a distinct difference in his eyes…

'_His eyes…it's like he has it set in his heart and mind that he'll die here…' _Ren thought. _"He has accepted his fate of death with no remorse. As a fellow warrior, you must grant that to him. But don't expect him to pull any attacks on you, Ren." _Mei said, giving her output on the situation. _'Alright, Lin. I'll give it all I've got.' _Ren answered, ready for this fight. Hua Xiong wouldn't hold anything back for this one.

"A rematch, huh? Fine…it's high time we ended this, anyways…" Ren said, his inner thoughts, along with any chance at witty banter, dashed for the moment. That was when the rest of the Alliance decided to arrive, including Yuan Shao and Cao Cao's forces, having received the reports about the exploits of the other armies.

As if that was their cue, the two combatants sprung into action, ready to end their battle once and for all…

(Man, I can't tell you how tempting it is to end the chapter here, but since I've kept this one waiting for a few days, I'll get it over with now.)

(play…whatever song you want to, I'm out of suggestions for now, and I'm halfway certain you don't always listen anyways…do what ya want with music)

The two warriors immediately clashed blades, getting into a weapon lock almost instantaneously, the gnashing metal generating small sparks around their weaponry. Quickly breaking the stalemate, Ren pushed upwards, forcing Hua to jump backwards when he twisted his spear and went for a horizontal slash.

The older man dashed forward right afterwards, going for the same lancing stab that he had used at the beginning of their last bout. Instead of dodging as expected however, the teen knocked the attack off-course with his spear's blunt end and repeated his initial attack, giving Hua a long jagged gash on his chest. Fighting back swiftly before his body had a chance to react to the pain, Hua attacked back.

Anticipating a retaliation, Ren deftly dodged the major part of the strike and dropped backwards a bit, only getting a shallow cut on his left arm for his efforts. Hua's injury, however, was much more serious.

The cut was deep, and thanks to the distance between the two warriors when the teen's blow connected along with the fact that his spear was tri-pronged, it managed to nick a couple of major blood vessels, causing it to bleed profusely. On top of that, the sheer force was enough to bruise a rib or two. The tables had completely turned against Hua Xiong.

'_He's just as strong as before, but after that wound…He's bound to lose some steam.' _Ren thought, and he was correct.

With Hua's body now unable to fully support his maximum strength any longer, the exchange of blows that came after were almost one-sided. Hampered by blood loss and his current injury, Hua simply couldn't keep up with the lithe and nimble Ren Jiang, who had also replenished his energy from the meal not too long prior.

He received several cuts on his arms, along with another one on his chest that aggravated the more serious wound in that area. Doing his best to fight back the haze dancing around his vision, he only barely noticed when his next attack was knocked completely off-balance, exposing his already mutilated chest area yet again. He didn't have enough time to stop the bottom-to-top vertical strike that came afterwards, the attack blowing him off his feet and sending him crashing into the ground, a small spray of blood flying outwards when the force carried over. The only thing that came after that was darkness…

…Hua Xiong did not get back up.

Notes

And there you have it. Hua Xiong has been defeated. *sigh* My laziness is returning, being the main reason why this one hasn't gone up yet. Oh well. Hope you like the fight scene; they're pretty hard to make them seem half-decent in my opinion. Anyways, the next chapter will finally feature the one, the only…

LU BU!

I'm signing off, see ya next time!


	13. Notice

Hey there, everybody. This is KnightMan1890. Unfortunately, this is NOT an update. I am actually going to be going on hiatus for a while. School is really coming in full force, and I'm gonna need some time to get back into the swing of things.

This does NOT mean that I have scrapped this story, however. During the rare breaks I have in classes, I'll be sure to get some work done on this story and any future ones I may have in mind. A few of my friends have pledged to give me support when they can, considering new ideas and possible revisions on old ones.

This hiatus period may last from at least 2 weeks to possibly a month. Sorry readers, I do hate to cut you off right before the infamous Lu Bu-Hu Lao Gate scenario, but this is something I gotta do. Of course, you can send me your ideas, too; either through reviews or PM's. I'll be sure to look at them and do my best to incorporate them into my planning process for future chapters and stories.

Anyways, this is KnightMan1890, signing off! Laters!

P.S. If you're wondering about what happened between Mei and me, well…let's just say we've reconciled.

*Mei* "Oh, KnightMan, come back to bed, honey…"

*I wink at readers and go back to bedroom…*


	14. Enter Lu Bu

Hey again! After a hiatus of over a month, I am finally back with the next chapter of Chaos Reigns: RNH. I actually got a day off school on Wednesday, but it got destroyed by a boatload of homework, especially the essay...*shudders*

Anyways, with school back in session, I'll be limited to about one update per week, if not every other week. I'm a junior in high school now, and if the last two years were any indication, it won't be an easy time. I will NOT scrap this story, nor any other ideas I may have. I may get chances to type during school hours, but no promises. Wish me luck!

Thankfully, fall break will be coming after the next couple of weeks, giving me 14-15 days off of school in a row; plenty of time to slam out some chapters. Can't wait!

As I think you've noticed, I've started a trend of using nicknames for the various characters within my story, as I don't like to address them by their full names every time I talk about them or what their saying. Besides the use of a quick personal description(such as "white-haired teen"), or official/historic titles or nicknames, I tend to shorten the full name to their the 1st or 2nd portion. I try to be clear on the distinction on who each character is, but feel free to inform me if you get confused at some point. I'm not the best of writers.

Well then, let's get back to the story. Last time, Ren Jiang faced and defeated Hua Xiong in one-on-one combat. Now, the Allied Forces must attack the last bastion of protection for Luo Yang…the infamous Hu Lao Gate.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my original characters.

"speech"

'_thinking' _

"_inner speech" _

"**rage speech" **

(author's notes & comments)

((scene change))

previous chapter note

_**responses to reviews **_

_flashback_

_**narration **_

No review responses since it's been so long…

(Last time, on Chaos Reigns…)

With Hua's body now unable to fully support his maximum strength any longer, the exchange of blows that came after were almost one-sided. Hampered by blood loss and his current injury, Hua simply couldn't keep up with the lithe and nimble Ren Jiang, who had also replenished his energy from the meal not too long prior. 

He received several cuts on his arms, along with another one on his chest that aggravated the more serious wound in that area. Doing his best to fight back the haze dancing around his vision, he only barely noticed when his next attack was knocked completely off-balance, exposing his already mutilated chest area yet again. He didn't have enough time to stop the bottom-to-top vertical strike that came afterwards, the attack blowing him off his feet and sending him crashing into the ground, a small spray of blood flying outwards when the force carried over. The only thing that came after that was darkness…

…Hua Xiong did not get back up.

(And now…)

_**And with that, Hua Xiong was defeated and killed. Now that Si Shui Gate has finally fallen, it was time for the coalition to press onwards to Hu Lao Gate, the last line of defense against the elimination of Dong Zhuo, and victory for the Alliance. **_

_**Hu Lao Gate is said to be impregnable according to early legends regarding the old Han Dynasty. That fact will only be reinforced due to a certain warrior protecting it now…**_

_**Can Ren Jiang and his allies break through?**_

((Si Shui Gate))

"So, it looks like he's done." Ren said as he stared down at the lifeless body of Hua Xiong, panting heavily as he recovered his breath. "Nice job, Ren! I knew you'd take him down!" Ce added as he ran up to his friend. "Thanks, but we're not through yet." Ren said, readying his spear for what lie ahead. "Yes, we still have to break down Hu Lao Gate in order to reach Dong Zhuo." Zhou Yu remarked as the gate began to open.

"Well come on, then! There's no time to waste!" Ce yelled as he charged off immediately when the gate was fully opened. "He'll never stop being himself, will he?" Ren asked as he and Zhou began to follow after him. "I suppose not, but who would be if we tried to change that?" Zhou asked in response, causing Ren to chuckle lightly.

As the rest of the alliance began to advance after the trio's departure, Liu Bei and his brothers reflected a bit on just how much their young friend had changed. "The kid's really growing up, huh?" Zhang Fei asked, reflecting on the battle he had just witnessed. "Indeed; he has chosen the warrior's path, an admirable goal. However, we cannot allow ourselves to fall too far behind his deeds." Guan Yu answered. "Yeah, we can't let that kid show us up just yet! Come on, brothers!" Fei responded, raring to get moving again. "Agreed. Only Hu Lao Gate remains. Let us go forth, my brothers!" Liu Bei declared as they began their advance once again.

(play DW7 BGM - "Massacre Theater")

_'Hu Lao Gate, the last bastion of defense for the imperial city of Luo Yang. I never imagined that I would fight to destroy it...' _Yuan Shao thought as the Allied army renewed its attack. _'However, in order to save the Han, we cannot shirk from this duty!' _"All units, advance! Only Hu Lao Gate is left! Tear it down!" he commanded, the various armies responding in kind.

For all intents and purposes, the assault on Hu Lao Gate was a cakewalk for the Alliance. Morale had dropped immensely within Dong Zhuo's forces after the death of Hua Xiong and fall of Si Shui Gate, and the remaining soldiers were being pushed back with little effort. Scores upon scores of troops fell to the onslaught of the reinvigorated army.

Cutting down the last of the defending forces, the allies noticed that the huge visage of Hu Lao Gate was finally in sight. "There it is, the grand gate! Prepare to break it down! Ready the catapults!" Yuan Shao ordered, his army complying and beginning their preparations. The tell-tale sounds of construction began to rise throughout the clearing.

Sun Ce, noticing that Ren looked to be a bit lost in thought, asked him what was up. "Just...thinking about the future, Ce. Like, what's gonna happen after we take down this tyrant? Will another one simply rise in his place? Or, will we all turn against one another?" Ren answered, his current state of mind reminiscent of when they were about to face Zhang Jiao.

"The future will bring what it brings." Zhou Yu answered, walking towards the duo. "The knowledge of such events is beyond the reach of mortal beings like us." he continued. "Yeah, Ren. Whatever happens, happens. I do know one thing, though." Ce responded, prompting the universal "What's that?" questioning expression from his two friends. "I still wanna have a match with you, Ren. It's been six years since we last saw each other." he answered. "Alright, Ce." the white-haired teen answered, chuckling lightly.

Within the area, some engineers were moving to set a perimeter around Hu Lao Gate, heading towards the great hunk of steel in order to complete their preparations. However, their plans came to a _crashing _halt when suddenly...

A lone warrior on horseback _launched _himself from the peak of the huge gate, coming to a powerful landing just in front of the advancing construction men. The force of the stop created a large shockwave that sent the men flying several feet backwards, landing harshly on the icy snow.

"Looks like we've got company." Ren said as he readied his spear, the other warriors arriving and looking on at the encroaching threat.

It was a single man, but he alone was enough to warrant some serious concern.

He was a moderately tall individual, rivaling that of Guan Yu, wearing a seemingly high-durable black armor with complex silver markings throughout; it was complete with shoulder armor, knee padding, combat boots, chest plating, black gloves, and a belt that had the face of a bestial organism. On the man's left side, he wore a long black sash that was covered in intricate red and golden markings that seemed to resemble a large bird of sorts; perhaps even a phoenix. He also had a crown with two long, string-like attachments flowing downwards, reaching past his waist. (Apparently, this thing is called a "pheasant-tail headdress".

The weapon he wielded was a long black halberd. The main blade looked to be a coagulation of a curved blade from a pike and the "business" end of a spear; besides the silver edges, it was also black in color with a golden design and a red gem resting inside its center. From the back of the handle protruded a silver spike, itself looking to be able to do some serious damage on its own.

Even the horse he presently rode appeared to be extremely fierce in its own right. It's coat was a fiery crimson, and it was wearing a black armor that mirrored the man's on its chest on legs. Its mane and tail were a burning yellow, looking as if they were on fire. The faceplate it wore only made the stark nature of its _glowing _red eyes even more menacing.

The man's gruff, yet somewhat young face was currently gazing into the veiled armies of the Alliance, his dark-brown eyes likened to that of a predator's, as if judging them all to be his prey. Frankly, that wasn't too far from the truth.

All in all, this person was a _beast._

"I-I-It's...I-I-It's...LU BU!" one Allied soldier suddenly yelled out, turning and fleeing in terror. Many others followed when they came to the horrifying realization of the man's identity, leaving only the major generals who weren't affiliated with Yuan Shao's and Cao Cao's personal army, as they were overseeing the construction of the siege catapults.

(play Lu Bu's DW7 theme)

The remaining generals filed into a line formation, facing this new and powerful threat. Ren Jiang, flanked by Sun Ce and Zhou Yu, were joined by Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Jin Zang.

Lu Bu regarded them all, hoisting his halberd into a ready stance. "I am sick of weaklings." he said, a rough voice matching his visage coming from him. "Come!"

_'Damn...I wasn't expecting to see __**him **__again so soon...' _Ren thought, unknowing that this particular enemy would be on his plate today. _"This is unfortunate...at least you'll have aid this time, but who knows just how strong this man truly is?" _Mei responded, the first time she spoke to Ren since the previous battle with Hua Xiong. _'No kidding...and I just got through with Hua Xiong not long ago...I'm really gonna need help with this one.' _he thought back, idly regressing to the last time he had to fight Lu Bu...it was _not _pretty.

"You know who I am? I am the mighty Zhang Fei!" the youngest sworn brother declared, breaking the young teen from his inner conversation. "Brothers!" Liu Bei called out, releasing his dual swords. "Together, our combined might will overcome this beast!" he resolved, he and his two brothers getting into their respective ready stances. "You three should hold back; let us handle Lu Bu." he requested, looking towards Ren, Ce, and Zhou.

"Sorry, my lord, but I can't do that. I've got some unfinished business with this guy...I've yet to pay him back for the injury he gave me. Besides, it'll most likely all of us to bring him down." Ren responded, subconsciously waving a hand over his eye-scar. "Don't worry about us. We can handle ourselves!" Ce said, setting up his tonfas for what looked to be a tough fight ahead. Zhou wordlessly got into his own ready stance, noting the severity of their current situation.

Lu Bu, who had been silently contemplating on the white-haired teen's statement of "unfinished business", suddenly recollected where he had seen him before. "You," he said, pointing his weapon at Ren.

((flashback))

_It was not but a year ago. _

_Dong Zhuo had invited the prefect_ _Chen Liu, Cao Cao, to a banquet supposedly in his honor and in celebration of Dong's own rise to power._

_As expected, it was a trap set by the tyrant in order to rid himself of one of his potential threats to his power. _

_Cao Cao, who was actually fostering a plan to assassinate Dong Zhuo, was caught off guard by this sudden turn of events and was isolated within the man's castle as he was attempting to escape. _

_Through a stroke of fortune, however, a former minister of Dong Zhuo's decided to aid the trapped ruler, directing him through the veritable maze that was the tyrant's castle. Unfortunately, that fortune came to an abrupt end when they were suddenly approached by Lu Bu, who had been accepted into Dong's armed forces not long before. _

_Wasting no time in his attack, the warrior was ready to end both of their lives when suddenly, a tiger appeared from seemingly nowhere and pounced the black-clad warrior, halting his attack for the moment. Cao Cao noticed the animal as the one he had released from its cage just a few minutes before in order to cause havoc within the enemy forces. However, he also vaguely recognized the white-haired young teen who was riding it just before it attacked Lu Bu. It was the same boy that he saw face Zhang Jiao at the Yellow Turban Rebellion._

_Attacking Lu Bu furiously without end, as a wild animal naturally would, its assault came to a crashing and violent end when the man suddenly thrust his halberd into the tiger's vulnerable stomach and hurled it a small distance away. Even though it tried to stagger back to its feet, the injury was too great as it simply fell back to the ground, severely hurt and possibly dead. _

_The sight of the downed animal seemed to trigger a sudden bout of anger from the boy, as he spontaneously erupted with the same power that he had used against Zhang Jiao, generating a large burst of cold energy that actually managed to send Lu Bu staggering back a few feet. _

_The boy's hair had changed to a more icy-looking shade of silver; angling his head to look back at Cao Cao, the ruler clearly received the message to "get away" that shined within the teen's now crystalline-blue eyes. Using the opportunity, he regained his bearings and led the minister to a safe distance in order to resume his retreat._

_The ensuing fight between the teen(who we all know to be Ren) and a now-angered Lu Bu was almost completely one-sided. Try as he might, Ren attacks simply couldn't match up to the ferocity of one such as Lu Bu. Just barely managing to dodge what could have been a lethal blow, the teen ended up getting a shallow slash across his left eye when the warrior twisted his halberd into a reverse blow, nicking the teen with the spike that was on the weapon's back edge. The force of the attack knocking Ren to the ground, it looked to be the end when Lu Bu raised his weapon for a downward stab, when suddenly..._

_The tiger, thought to be either dead or incapacitated, lunged at the warrior once more and cut off the finishing blow. Tired of the wild animal's meddling, Lu Bu knocked it to the ground once again and slashed at it one last time, cutting its neck wide open and ensuring its demise. _

_The brutal act prompted yet another spike of anger within the teen, but he rationally knew that he couldn't stand up to this warrior as it was, especially with only one working eye right now. Clenching the injury that was beginning to drip a slight amount of blood, he re-routed his power boost from strength to speed and ran off as fast as his battered body would allow._

_Through a nearly miraculous stroke of the devil's luck, he managed to escape both the castle and Lu Bu's pursuit._

((flashback end))

"You were fortunate to have escaped me once, boy. You won't be so lucky again." Lu Bu proclaimed, his face dead set in seriousness. "So, you remember me, huh?" Ren idly thought/asked, recollecting the same past memory as the warrior. "So, you know this guy, Ren?" Ce asked, not realizing what the whole connection was between the two. "Not personally...but I was unfortunate enough to meet the business end of his halberd, as you now know." Ren answered, his expression serious and unwavering from Lu Bu's visage.

Leaving the matter at that, everyone turned to stand firm in the face of this powerful warrior, the tension becoming so thick, one could feel it in his very bones.

The stalemate was utterly shattered when Zhang Fei launched the first attack, lunging at Lu Bu with an overhead smash. Countering with an attack from the opposite direction, the two met in a furious clash, sparks from their conjoined weaponry shining outwards and visible even through the snow and ice.

Pushing Fei back, Lu Bu immediately found himself under assault by the man's two brothers. Swinging his halberd in a wide, horizontal arc, he deflected Liu Bei's attack, forcing the man to back off. Quickly shifting to Guan Yu, Lu Bu hit yet another clash of weaponry. However, when Yu was joined by Liu Bei, who had managed to recover faster than expected, Lu was forced off of his horse, aptly named "Red Hare", which backed away to a safe distance after the forced dismounting of its master.

With the force of the transfer knocking Liu and Yu away as well, Lu saw that his next two opponents were Ren Jiang and Jin Zang. The young teen went for a lancing stab while his uncle tried for a diagonal slash; they hoped to catch the warrior with a two-pronged attack, hoping that the hit Lu didn't block would be able to connect. Unfortunately, they underestimated Lu Bu's prowess in battle, as he began to spin his halberd in a helicopter-like fashion, catching both of his enemies' weapons mid-strike. With the three blades now locked, Lu twisted his in such a way that it knocked the others back, and their wielders off-balance. Using the opportunity, he nailed both opponents in their abdomens with the flat side of his halberd, knocking them to the ground.

Taking a scant second to look around the battle area, Lu Bu noticed that two enemies were missing from the group. His warrior's instinct suddenly kicked in, telling him to look up; good thing he did, as he managed to catch Sun Ce and Zhou Yu, who were coming for a dual overhead strike, just in time. Not wasting time with the monotony of a third stalemate, Lu simply thrust the true bladed end of his weapon into the air where they were dropping from, forcing them to separate and abandon their attack for the moment, lest they be skewered. Not backing down yet, however, they flipped back into their attacking stances and quickly renewed their assault.

Putting their innate speed and agility to use, they engaged Lu Bu in an short exchange of blows, looking to actually manage to overwhelm the warrior, if only for a moment. With a powerful widened strike, Lu batted them both away, forcing them to backpedal their efforts.

With this, the Allied officers and generals held back for a bit, so that they could plan their next move. Knowing that none of them would be able to match Lu Bu one-on-one, they had tried to overwhelm him through varied attacks in pairs. Although the strategy was enough to break even with the warrior, it wouldn't be enough to defeat him unless they simply reiterated their assaults over and over again until fatigue set in. However, the process would take a long time, as Lu Bu showed no signs of slowing even now, facing seven opponents at once.

"Okay, so what do we do here? This guy's matching us blow for blow even when we're in pairs!" Ce said, unbelieving at the difficulty of this single enemy. "Perhaps we can overcome him by all of us attacking together. He can't possibly defeat all of us when fighting at the same time." Zhou Yu suggested, not taking his gaze away from Lu Bu's visage. "We're thinking too large. The point isn't to defeat Lu Bu." Ren said, garnering surprised looks from his allies. "Look, Yuan Shao's engineers have been working on the catapults the entire time, haven't they? We don't have to take Lu Bu down; we just need to stall him long enough for Hu Lao Gate to be broken down. Although, attacking all together wouldn't be such a bad idea." he explained, looking to be a sound plan in the others' minds.

Lu Bu, although being who he is, didn't mind the short reprieve that his current adversaries were allowing. As much as he hated to admit it, each of these enemies would be at least half-decent even fighting alone. If they all began to attack him at once, it would pose a problem even to one as powerful as he is. And, he knew that that was probably just what they're thinking of doing. Oh, well. More fun to add to the fight with a greater challenge.

However, as if hearing everyone's current thoughts on the battle, a large number of reinforcement troops for Dong Zhuo's army suddenly arrived atop Hu Lao Gate, and were scaling down the pathways using the ladders that Yuan Shao's engineers had originally set up for the siege.

The unexpected assault created disarray within the construction workers of the Alliance, as the soldiers were immediately charging after either the siege weapons or the engineers themselves in order to halt the attempted destruction of the gate.

_'Humph. It looks like that pig actually managed to get some use out of that pea-sized brain of his.' _Lu Bu thought idly as he watched the spectacle unfold.

The Allied officers in battle with Lu Bu quickly found themselves caught in a dangerous situation; the siege of Hu Lao Gate would come to a screeching stop if either the engineers or catapults were taken out. If that happened, the officers would be forced to attempt to actually defeat Lu Bu and at least force him into retreat. At this point, they weren't sure if that was even possible.

"Now what? We can't just leave our engineers to fight Dong Zhuo's army on their own. Yuan Shao's and Cao Cao's armies alone can't handle a force of that size." Jin Zang remarked, noting that the rest of the alliance was struggling to defend against the new onslaught of enemies. "But, we can't just leave Lu Bu to his rampage either. Looks like we'll have to split up." Zhou Yu answered, presenting what was possibly the only solution. "Seems that way, but who's gonna leave?" Ce asked, not wanting to abandon this fight.

"Lord Liu Bei...I think that you and your brothers should." Ren surprisingly said, shocking the others. "What? You're insane if you think we're letting you take on Lu Bu alone!" Fei yelled, wondering why he wanted them to back down. Liu Bei and Guan Yu silently agreed, but they first wanted to hear Ren's reasoning behind his request.

"I'll be fighting with Sun Ce and Zhou Yu, but think about it; Lu Bu, in his mind, would have plenty of reason to underestimate us, if not only by our age. On top of that, we still don't have to actually beat him; although it'll be a bit longer than expected, we'll just have to hold him down long enough for you guys to get our siege preparations restarted. Don't worry so much; we three are capable as warriors." Ren explained, hoping to ease his lord's worries(which he seems to have had to do a lot, huh?).

"I am a bit skeptical as well. How long do believe you can hold him off?" Liu Bei asked, unsure of his young retainer's plan. "As long as is needed." a new voice joined in, revealed as belonging to Sun Jian who had arrived at the area along with Huang Gai. "Do not worry; we'll aid them in the fight against this beast." he said, declaring his aim. "Hmm...Very well." Bei conceded after a period of thought. "Please keep Lu Bu at bay as long as you can. Come, my brothers; we must aid in the siege efforts." he continued, Guan Yu wordlessly following after him. "Oh, alright then, but you'd better not die on me, kid!" Fei said as he too left with his two brothers.

"Uncle, could you help Lord Liu Bei as well? We'll take care of things here." Ren asked, his uncle relenting and beginning to move towards the construction sites. "Okay, just be careful with this guy, Ren. Alright?" At his nephew's nod, he left the area.

"We will need to combine our efforts in order to defeat him." the Tiger of Jiang Dong said. "Right, father. You in, Ren, Zhou Yu?" Ce responded, ready for the fight to begin anew. His two friends nodded, also prepared for a second round.

_'Seems like they're ready for another fight. Well then, I think it's time I stop messing around.' _Lu Bu thought as he readied himself for the renewed fight ahead.

Ren and the others wouldn't know what hit them...

Notes

With that, I am back. Finally. From this point onward, I'll be juggling two fanfic series, this one and one for the King of Fighters games. I will _try _my hardest to keep my updates regular. If I don't for a long period of time, it means that I either have something big planned, like a multi-chapter update, or I'm dealing with a time-consuming project at school. I haven't given up on anything yet, so keep watch!

Character Ages  
>Lu Bu: 34<p>

Well, Lu Bu has mentally declared to "stop messing around". What will that mean for Ren and his friends? Find out next chapter when the fight starts up again, and Ren has a fateful meeting with a certain songstress...

KnightMan1890, signing off! See ya later!


	15. Clash! A New Awakening

Waz up! KnightMan1890 is back with another installment of Chaos Reigns: RNH. Well, I've got just one more week until fall break, and then I've got 2 whole weeks off of school! WOOT!

Anyways, this means that I'll hopefully be bringing several more updates to the table during the time off, as I don't have anything planned for time spending during the break. Stay tuned in!

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my original characters.

"speech"

'_thinking' _

"_inner speech" _

"**rage speech" **

(author's notes & comments)

((scene change))

previous chapter note

_**responses to reviews **_

_flashback_

_**narration **_

Review Responses

_Awesome PJOHarry - **Glad you liked it. After looking at the dates of your previous reviews, I noticed that the time between my last two actual updates was about 2 months...Yikes, I really lost track of time during the transition back to school. Anyways, Diao Chan is indeed making an appearance in this chapter, if not a brief one. P.S. Did you have to threaten Mei like that? She's kinda pissed off at you now...**_

_Aryk von Straln - **Yep, this is indeed my first story; glad you like it! Oh, I see what you mean about the 'cold-blooded vs. self-defense' issue. You're right. Thanks for the review; hope for your continued support!**_

(Last time, on Chaos Reigns...)

"I am a bit skeptical as well. How long do believe you can hold him off?" Liu Bei asked, unsure of his young retainer's plan. "As long as is needed." a new voice joined in, revealed as belonging to Sun Jian who had arrived at the area along with Huang Gai. "Do not worry; we'll aid them in the fight against this beast." he said, declaring his aim. "Hmm...Very well." Bei conceded after a period of thought. "Please keep Lu Bu at bay as long as you can. Come, my brothers; we must aid in the siege efforts." he continued, Guan Yu wordlessly following after him. "Oh, alright then, but you'd better not die on me, kid!" Fei said as he too left with his two brothers.

"Uncle, could you help Lord Liu Bei as well? We'll take care of things here." Ren asked, his uncle relenting and beginning to move towards the construction sites. "Okay, just be careful with this guy, Ren. Alright?" At his nephew's nod, he left the area.

"We will need to combine our efforts in order to defeat him." the Tiger of Jiang Dong said. "Right, father. You in, Ren, Zhou Yu?" Ce responded, ready for the fight to begin anew. His two friends nodded, also prepared for a second round.

_'Seems like they're ready for another fight. Well then, I think it's time I stop messing around.' _Lu Bu thought as he readied himself for the renewed fight ahead.

Ren and the others wouldn't know what hit them...

(And now...)

_**Lu Bu...the strongest warrior in all of ancient China.**_

_**Ren Jiang and his allies must find a way to overcome both him and Hu Lao Gate, in order to finally proceed to Luo Yang and hopefully, Dong Zhuo.**_

_**Can he be defeated? And, what lies beyond the grand gate...?**_

((Hu Lao Gate; several minutes after end of last chapter))

As Lu Bu's 5 opponents seemed to be coming to a shared agreement on the next of course of the fight, they all suddenly turned to face him and rushed forward all at once...just as the warrior was anticipating.

_'Hah, they think that their numbers will make a difference? Fools!' _he thought as he readied himself, held out his right hand, and...

_**BOOM!**_

((Ren's mindscape))

"_Ren, Ren! Say something!" _Mei yelled out, desperately trying to garner a response from her container.

She barely kept track of what had happened. One minute, her jailor and his allies were rushing Lu Bu simultaneously, about to attack, and the next, they were all suddenly sent _flying _backwards by an _enormous _wave of crimson and black energy that Lu Bu had somehow summoned merely by holding out his right hand. Each person suffered a harsh landing on the unforgiving icy ground, and were apparently knocked unconscious. _"Ren, please wake up!" _she continued.

Little did she know, something dark and sinister was stirring within her host...

((with Lu Bu))

"Humph, that should take care of them." he said to himself, lowering his stance at the sight of his enemies laying on the ground a few meters away. He had just unleashed his strongest attack, aptly named the "Spirit Bomb".

He had to give them at least some credit, though...they were somewhat persistent, exchanging blows with the warrior for another ten rounds before he finally used the attack that led them to the present situation.

Regardless, they were down, and Lu Bu took the chance to inspect the other happenings around him. The other armies of the Alliance had been using his distraction to forward their own plans, apparently finished with the setup of catapults that would most likely be used to destroy Hu Lao Gate outright.

He still had time to take them down, though. Planning to stop their plan in its tracks, he was about to call his steed, Red Hare, when...

((mindscape))

Mei had finally stopped her ceaseless pleading when she heard a slight tremor begin to travel through Ren's mindscape. She listened intently as it increased in its intensity. The normal brightness of the young man's mind slowly became shrouded in a veil of absolute darkness as the ground started to shake, the true identity of the pseudo-earthquake becoming known...

It was a growl, a very animal-like one at that.

"_R-Ren?" _she asked meekly, wondering what was happening to her container.

The only response was the sudden appearance of a slitted, crimson-red giant eye...

((battle area))

(play KOF '97 OST - "Control Crisis")

Lu Bu watched with interest as the white-haired teen's body slowly rose from its prone position on the cold, hard ground.

Raising himself up from the ground legs-first, as if falling in reverse, the teen mechanically lowered his right arm and gripped his spear, ignoring the snow and ice that were grasped along with his weapon of choice.

His upper clothing had been shredded in half, leaving the left side of his chest and abdomen bare, while his pants had become tattered and ripped from the impact of the blast and his subsequent crash into the snow-covered dirt.

On top of everything else, whatever the unseen force keeping his hair upright was, it had disappeared, leaving the teen's mane to drape over his head, reach his shoulders, and shroud most of his face in darkness, particularly his eyes.

In summary, Ren looked to all the world like a zombie rising from its grave.

_'Humph, looks like that strange power of his is back again...This just might be worth my time.' _Lu thought as he readied himself for the transformed threat in front of him.

As if hearing his thought, Ren suddenly snapped to attention, revealing that his eyes had turned into a complete bloody-crimson color, the only thing visible in them being a thin, black slitted pupil.

Letting out a fierce, dark growl, not unlike that of an enraged animal's, showing that his canine teeth within his mouth had elongated to the point where they were slightly visible even when the mouth was closed. The yell coincidentally coincided with the first launch of the catapults from the other Allied forces, who were luckily too far away from the unfolding spectacle to have their attention drawn by it.

Ren charged at Lu, brandishing his spear in front of him. The warrior had just enough time to raise his halberd in defense before the impact, the force of their initial clash sending a shockwave lancing outwards from the site.

Pushing the teen backwards, Lu went for a stab with his weapon, but the move was parried by the seemingly possessed teen, who responded in kind with his own attack; a reverse swing from the side with the blunt end of his spear.

Although the teen's speed had increased by a wide margin, it wasn't enough to drive past Lu Bu's innate warrior reflexes, which allowed him to block the strike with the "blunt" end of his halberd. He then proceeded to slash at his opponent with a wide 'baseball' swing, managing to hit Ren with the bladed end of his weapon and leaving a large gash on the exposed part of the teen's exposed upper body. The impact of the blow also served to knock the white-haired individual back several feet, sliding on his legs and digging a trench through the ground.

However, even such damage(and after his previous rounds with Lu Bu, it totalled a lot of hurt), seemed to do little in stopping Ren at this point...In fact, it only served to increase his ever-exploding rage, as he charged back without a second's hesitation, attacking furiously with a wild barrage of hacking and slashing, launching attack after attack with reckless abandon.

In true "powerful enemy" fashion, however, Lu Bu had little trouble either dodging or blocking nearly every attack that was sent at him by the now uncontrollable enemy he was facing. Only one hit connected, though; ironically, this was the one attack the teen used that didn't involve his weapon, an _accidental _slash to the face with _claws _that he had suddenly acquired, most likely attributed with the strange transformation that he had gone through. The hit left a small scratch mark on Lu's face; small enough to easily heal over time, but deep enough to draw blood, if only a little.

Lu Bu, despite all his strength and skill, was still only human, if only an extremely powerful one. However monstrous he seemed to others, the ability to lose his body's vital fluid showed that he can be killed, however unlikely it may be.

The warrior would never, and I mean _never_, entertain even a glancing thought of losing in battle. However, that mentality only came from the fact that he had never lost a single battle. Within him, his warrior's pride was always burning for the thrill of facing an opponent who could give him a true challenge, push him to his limits, and, dare he say, even manage to defeat him in combat.

Unfortunately, Lu realized with a grim resignation that the teen in front of him would _not _be that particular fight; he had strength to be certain, but without the mindset needed to control it, he would only be mindless animal enshrouded in rage, just like he was now.

Continuing the moderately creepy trend of reading one's mind and emotions, Ren, still in his enraged state, suddenly backed off in his assault, backpedaling for a few feet. Lu Bu, noting this, decided to hold back for a second in order to see what Ren would do next.

The unasked question was immediately answered when the environment around the two combatants began to shift; a wind was picking up, which was strange since the snowstorm was supposed to have halted already. Looking about, Lu Bu noticed that the snow and ice, even from the air, seemed to be getting drawn to a certain point and coalescing at that particular location...right in front of him.

Turning to face straight forward, Lu saw that the source of the disturbance was Ren himself!

The teen was becoming enshrouded by the snow and ice, his body beginning to glow with an eerie cerulean-blue light; in fact, it only took about a minute for the haze to fully cover his body, allowing only his currently glowing red eyes to be visible; for anyone less than Lu Bu, it would be quite the frightening picture, but for the man himself, it was only another point of interest about the teen he was fighting.

This was quite the development...Lu immediately knew that Ren was charging up for some sort of attack, as the teen illustrated by holding out his spear in front of him, apparently preparing for a stab. Not one to be outdone, Lu Bu began the quick setup for his "Spirit Bomb" attack once again.

He would test just how strong this boy's attack would be!

The two continued to prepare their respective ultimate moves for a few more minutes, making sure they put all that their attacks could handle into this exchange.

Clenching his body like a wildcat primed for the pounce, Ren called out his attack just as it was fully charged. **"RIOT...LANCE!" **he yelled as he finally charged forth, the first words he had spoken since his "change" had begun to occur. His voice was raspy and dark, sounding almost like a double between his and _something _else's...

The moment he said that, though, he seemed to _explode _in a huge burst of icy energy that trailed behind him as he propelled himself forward at an accelerated velocity, thanks to the cold environment that surrounded his being. Lu Bu answered with his own attack, the familiar surge of black and dark red energy appearing from his hand and speeding forth as well.

It was merely a moment before the two attacks met each other in the center of their battlefield, with a resounding...

_**BOOM!**_

((Ren's mindscape; throughout the course of the battle))

Mei, watching the events of the battle through Ren's mind's eye, couldn't help but be astounded at the transformation that her container was going through.

However, she was also fearful; she could feel the familiar tug on her power, but the amount that Ren was currently drawing upon wouldn't possibly be enough to cause such a reaction from him.

The giant, glowing red eye that had suddenly appeared within the teen's mindscape would most likely provide the answer...

And it did, when it suddenly shrank in size and changed into a mass of crimson energy, reforming at the "ground" level of the mindspace. Forming into what looked to be a human body, Mei tried to ascertain just who or what is was, when the red haze around it disappeared, revealing the organism's true visage.

Although the apparently male figure's back was turned, she could tell that it was...Ren...?

"_R-Ren...Is that you? What's happening?" _Mei asked, wanting to know just what had come over the teen.

'Ren' turned to face Mei, but he didn't say a word, nor did he open his eyes. _"What's going on, Ren? Are you okay...?" _she asked. The teen's only response was a light chuckle that degenerated into outright laughter, but this wasn't his usual laughter that showed an innocent amusement, oh no...

Thislaughter contained the undertones of _pure evil_...

"_I'm sorry, he's not in right now. May I take a message?"_ 'Ren' suddenly asked, finally opening his eyes for Mei to see as he began another round of laughter that sent a bad feeling through her.

At that moment, Mei knew that whomever this being was, he was _not _Ren; although, she realized this not through his face, not his deep voice that sounded like it was being dragged through gravel, nor even the evil tone lining his laughter.

No...it was through his piercing red and black eyes...that Mei knew that things had gone _horribly _wrong...

Notes

Well, there's another one down. I apologize that it's a bit short compared to some of my other later ones; I lost my jumpdrive, which contained all of my information about my stories(along with all my pc games and a school project), forcing me to have to start over from scratch. (sigh)

Anyways, hope you liked Ren's "change"; the fight between him Lu Bu, along with the explanation over said change will be done next chapter.

Okay, I know I said I'd have Diao Chan appear in this chapter, and I'm sorry that I didn't go through with that. I felt that it would be a bit rushed if I ended these two major scenes here. I promise that I'll include her in the next one.

No new characters to mark the age of, but here's the musou attacks that I've used so far:  
>Spirit Bomb(Lu Bu): Concentrate your spirit and unleash a massive explosion.<br>Riot Lance(Ren Jiang): Summon your inner strength and charge forth, tearing through the battlefield.

There will be others scattered throughout the story; watch for them!

Be sure to come back around next week for the next update! What will be the outcome of the battle between Lu Bu and Ren Jiang? Who is this individual within Ren's mind that _isn't _Mei? Find out next time, on Chaos Reigns: RNH!

KnightMan1890, signing off! See ya!


	16. Hu Lao Falls

And I'm back, once again. KnightMan1890, only three days away from fall break! WHOO!

Alright, with this chapter coming out, I'm gonna be slamming out some chapters like nobody's business; possibly 2 or even 3 updates per week during my time off. If things work out well enough, I may be able to finish up this story within the next couple months or so...Okay, it may not be _that_ quick, but close enough to it.

In this chapter, I wrap up the Lu Bu battle, reveal some information about the new tenant that Ren seems to have, and finally introduce a certain songstress into the tale...

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my original characters.

"speech"

_'thinking' _

"_inner speech"_

"**rage speech"**

(author notes & comments)

((scene change))

previous chapter note

_**responses to reviews**_

_flashback_

_**narration**_

Review Responses

_Awesome PJOHarry – **Thanks for your approval. No, I don't think it's weird that Naruto popped into your mind there. I was actually angling for a 'jinchuuriki' feel as I went through Ren's transformation. Oh, don't expect this new power to be obedient anytime soon; although, it's relationship with Mei will be quite interesting to think and type about...*smirks evilly***_

_Aryk von Straln – **Glad you liked them. For some reason, I find it hard to slate out detailed fight scenes, and when I actually put them down, they usually don't seem long enough. I really tried to play up the Lu Bu fight though; couldn't afford to fall short on that one. Well, the term 'Spirit Bomb' was the name of the musou attack that the move represents from the actual DW7 game; I know that if he'd used a REAL Spirit Bomb(as in, what it would entail before DW), it would have been OVER. Oh, wow...that's a pretty accurate description of Mei's backstory there. That's pretty much what happened. **_

(Last time, on Chaos Reigns...)

'Ren' turned to face Mei, but he didn't say a word, nor did he open his eyes. _"What's going on, Ren? Are you okay...?" _she asked. The teen's only response was a light chuckle that degenerated into outright laughter, but this wasn't his usual laughter that showed an innocent amusement, oh no...

This laughter contained the undertones of _pure evil_...

"_I'm sorry, he's not in right now. May I take a message?"_ 'Ren' suddenly asked, finally opening his eyes for Mei to see as he began another round of laughter that sent a bad feeling through her.

At that moment, Mei knew that whomever this being was, he was _not _Ren; although, she realized this not through his face, not his deep voice that sounded like it was being dragged through gravel, nor even the evil tone lining his laughter.

No...it was through his piercing red and black eyes...Mei realized that things had gone _horribly _wrong...

(And now...)

_**As the duel between Lu Bu and the newly-transformed Ren Jiang draws to a close, Mei Lin finds herself confronted by a newcomer within Ren's mindscape. **_

_**Who is this individual, and what does his sudden appearance have to do with the teen's change...?**_

((Luo Yang))

As the battle for Hu Lao Gate raged on...Dong Zhuo, the evil tyrant himself, was lounging safely within his palace in the Imperial capital of Luo Yang, believing that all was right with the world...

..._his _world, that is.

Dong was, in nearly all senses of the word, a complete pig. He ate as if he was a starving, ravenous dog at every mealtime. His maids, concubines, and many other women within his domain were seen as mere playthings and outlets for his sick and twisted fantasies. He treated everyone with contempt and condescension, including those of his royal court, his loyal soldiers(including Lu Bu and Zhang Liao), and even the emperor himself. He had what was left of the Han dynasty under the stranglehold of his fat, pudgy thumb.

Of course, his inner ugliness was easily mirrored on the outside as well, and not only through his actions, but his physical appearance as well.

His face was stout, with several rough wrinkles and bumps shown on it clearly, belying his moderate age. His hair, still a stark black, made a wave along the sides of his head and through this, connected to a long, scraggly beard. His dark brown eyes reflected his dark nature, heightening the repulsiveness of his visage.

His outfit, most likely stretched beyond all reason by his huge, almost _round _body, seemed to emulate his position as a Han Imperialist and the Protectorate of the new Han Emperor, Liu Xian. Of course, many knew that Dong himself had deposed the previous emperor and had put Xian in his place, further strengthening his authority in the court.

Anyways, the clothing he wore was mainly a double-shaded purple color, light on the upper and dark on the lower body. He had golden armor plating on his chest, abdomen, and shoulders, each piece having the face of some wild beast carved into it. The look was completed by a pair of silver and gold boots along with a special helmet that wasn't dissimilar to the one worn by Emperor Liu Xian; many people speculated that his wearing it was his way of mocking the Han's authority, however waning it may have become in recent years.

Currently, the man was being a spectator to the Alliance's struggle to reclaim the capital. He received periodic reports on the happenings of the battlefield sites, and he could only laugh haughtily in response to the demise of Hua Xiong, knowing that Lu Bu would take care of any loose ends. His main strategist, Li Ru, arrived in the room with the next message.

"Li Ru, how goes the battle? The Alliance is being beaten back, I trust?" Dong asked of his retainer, who shuffled a bit nervously before responding. "My lord, the enemy has proven more resilient than expected. They have presently set up catapults that are likely meant to destroy Hu Lao Gate outright." Li Ru responded, his report coinciding with a resounding boom emanating from the gate that confirmed his statement.

"What? What is Lu Bu doing? He should be annihilating the enemy where they stand!" Dong yelled, unbelieving that his elite forces were being driven back. "Master Lu Bu is currently under heavy assault by several officers of the enemy army. While I wouldn't dream of him being defeated in battle, the attack is stalling him long enough for the siege preparations to continue unabated." Li answered, noting his lord began to have a bead of sweat run down his face; in trepidation, he assumed.

_'If things continue as they are, those fools just might be able to break through! Damn...it seems that we may have to use our escape plan...' _the tyrant thought with more than a little worry creeping into his visage.

((Ren's mindscape; during final duel clash))

Mei could only stare at this individual, wondering just who or what he was, and where he came from.

The 'Ren' copy, having stopped his cruel laughter, merely stared back, his crimson-black eyes glowing in the darkness that was currently consuming the mindscape around them. _"Well? Are you going to stare at me all day, or will you say something? I know that I'm handsome and all, but this is getting a bit boring." _the 'person' said, a small smirk showing on his face. Hearing his rough voice snapped Mei out of her one-sided staring contest, as she decided to get right down to the point of this individual's existence.

"_Who are you, and why are you here, within this young man's mind?" _she asked, not wasting any more time with the matter. _"Straight to the point, are you? I like that. Well, I suppose I can tell you..."_ he began, starting to pace around the scape as he began his tale. _"I'll make things short and sweet...I am a manifestation of all the dark parts of this kid's mind. Losing his family in such a way so young affected him more than even he realizes. That was when I was born; with the first human life that the kid ever took. I've only grown stronger since then, feeding off the hidden feelings of resentment that were sown in him long ago." _the 'man' explained, his face becoming slightly more serious with each sentence. _"But how were you given such form? Even if you are indeed a creation of Ren's emotion, you should be nothing more than a slight feeling in the back of his mind." _Mei inquired.

"_Normally, you'd be right...But, not everyone has a nearly all-powerful god sealed in his gut, huh?" _the man stated, his smirk starting to come back. _"What do you mean?" _Mei asked, not sure if she'd like the answer. _"His connection and agreement with you has given him moderate access to your powers, which he generally only uses under extreme stress, correct?" _the man asked, that infernal smirk on his face not waning one bit. Mei nodded, unknowing of where he was going with the statement. _"And what emotions usually trigger such a period of stress within the kid?" _he asked. _"Mainly, they would be a sense of danger or...anger...!" _she drew out, her eyes widening as the realization came to her.

"_Bingo. Humans were never meant to obtain the powers of the Gods. Hell, that's why there's a distinction in the first place. Those Yellow Turban punks had no idea just what they were messing with when they performed that ritual. The influence of your other-worldly powers has given me form and unfortunately for you, a mind and emotions of my own." _he enumerated, driving his point home with a powerful authority.

"_How do you contain such strength?" _Mei asked, sensing his aura that the man wasn't even trying to conceal. It permeated the very air around them, creating a vibrant pressure that clashed with Mei's own. _"Ren is the one who receives the bulk of my power." _she continued, wanting to hear his answer to that. The man chuckled a bit before answering. _"And that, my dear, is where you're wrong. You truly believe that Ren was getting most of your energy? Hah! If that were true, he could've easily annihilated even Lu Bu without a second thought by now. He's been drawing upon it for years; have you ever noticed that he never seemed to get used to it, or take more than what he always did despite the severity of the situation?" _the inner asked, getting a rise out of Mei, who figured out the answer quickly after only several seconds of remembrance.

"_You mean to say...that you...!" _she began to yell, getting a quick laugh from the other. _"Indeed; once I realized the gravity of my situation in here, I started siphoning your power for my own needs; unfortunately, that took away from what the kid was supposed to get...hehe." _he answered, his smirk becoming even more smug. _"Why you...!" _Mei began, her tone quickly turning aggressive.

"_Ah, ah, ah..." _the man responded, wagging his finger in a 'scolding' motion. _"I'm in control of the kid now, love. I can easily cut his link to us and leave Lu Bu to pick up the pieces." _he warned, raising his right hand as if holding a set of invisible strings. _"Is that so...then, I'll simply have to wrest that control away from you." _Mei responded, her face becoming dead set in seriousness.

In her right hand, she summoned her weapon; it was a rapier. The handle and tsuba were a bright golden color, and the guard was in the shape of angel wings that were just beginning to spread. The blade was nearly a foot and a half long, and its color was a magnificent shade of sky-blue that matched Mei's hair. Getting into a fighting stance, the goddess was prepared to expel this...intruder from her container's mind. The unspoken declaration of her intentions caused the other to break out into laughter.

"_Hahahaha! How interesting...you wish to use force regardless, huh? Very well, I'll play this little game on your terms. Show me the power of the true Ice Goddess!" _the man declared as he summoned his own weapon; an all-black version of Ren's Divine Spear.

The two charged at each other as the inner battle ensued...

((meanwhile, at the Hu Lao Gate siege location))

Yuan Shao watched on as the catapults continued their relentless attack. One of his retainers arrived at his location with a status report on the siege. "Lord Yuan Shao, it appears that Hu Lao Gate is just about ready to fall! The men are awaiting your next orders." the messenger reported. "Excellent! Prepare the armies to charge through the gate!" he ordered. "Right away!" the messenger replied as he left.

_'This will be the end of you, Dong Zhuo...I swear it, on my honor as a member of the noble Yuan family!' _the Coalition commander thought to himself as he looked at Hu Lao Gate. Just then, however...

_**BOOM!**_

A _huge _wave of some sort of energy burst forth from the area in front of the gate, bringing with it a blast of wind that was accompanied by varying amounts of snow and ice; the impact forced many to shield their eyes, even knocking some people to the ground. After it took a minute to subside, Yuan instinctively deduced the most likely cause..._'That is, of course, if Lu Bu can be dealt with...' _he thought morbidly, as he knew the warrior would prove to be a major obstacle in this battle no matter what.

((Hu Lao Gate; some distance away from siege area))

Liu Bei and his brothers felt the shockwave emanate from Hu Lao Gate with a resounding force. They immediately knew who may have caused it, as this was not the first time that they had witnessed such power.

"Looks like that kid's going nuts again." Zhang Fei said as he laid down his dual halberd from in front of his face. "The power that had possessed him before...it has returned, and even stronger this time." Guan Yu said, remembering their last encounter with Ren's inner powers. "Indeed...we should go." Liu Bei responded, the three heading off to the battle.

((Hu Lao Gate; duel area))

The outcome of the battle had just about been reached.

The blast radius of the clash was large; nearly a block in diameter. Any and all parts of the ground that had been caught in the wave were turned into nothing but scorched earth; blackened and completely deprived of any kind of snow and ice.

Both combatants stood still and stern, miraculously only suffering mild burns and black marks on their respective clothing. Despite this, however, it was easily seen that Lu Bu was in a decidedly better condition stamina-wise; illustrated by the fact that he barely showed a single sign of fatigue. Besides his slightly deepened breathing, he seemed just as battle-ready as he was at the beginning of the fight.

Ren was a bit worse off; his transformed self was now breathing heavily and looking as though he could barely stand on his own two legs anymore. His eyes were half-lidded and his arms hung lazily at his sides. The grip that he had over his spear appeared to have lessened significantly, the weapon almost ready to simply fall from his hands. In spite of his impending collapse, however, he still glared at Lu with an utter defiance as his eyes hadn't lost a single semblance of their angry-red glow.

If the white-haired teen was anywhere close to his normal state of mind, he would've been more focused on what was happening within...

((Ren's mindscape))

The inner battle was an intense one.

Throughout the fight, Mei found her speed and rapidity of attacks offset by the other individual's power and strength of strikes.

The man, having jumped into the air in order to avoid a horizontal slash, went for an overhead smash, but he found his attack easily dodged by the dexterous Mei, who flipped to the side before the hit could connect, the blade making a loud 'clang' against the ground of the area that they were in. Swiftly counterattacking, the ice goddess suddenly shifted into a rapid flurry of stabs, all of them meant to give some sort of debilitating injury to the other.

Reacting with an unprecedented speed, the man managed to block each and every one of the attacks by rapidly spinning his spear in a defensive manner around him. The exchange went on for several rounds before the man proceeded to launch a wide swing, knocking Mei back a few feet and decidedly ending the back-and-forth exchange.

The two enemies now planning to use a different approach to the fight, they backpedaled a further distance away from each other, beginning to charge their respective energies into their weapons; Mei's an icy blue, and the man's a crimson red.

Feeling that the gathered power was sufficient, the two unleashed their attacks; 'slashes' formed of the concentrated energies. The attacks clashed in the center of their positions, creating a large explosion of violet-purple energy, sending a lancing wave of gale-force winds echoing outwards in all directions.

"_Hehe, this is quite fun...let's continue." _the inner spoke after the spectacle had died down. Mei didn't respond back, only getting into her ready stance once again.

Hoping to break the current stalemate, the two combatants renewed their assault...

((Hu Lao Gate; duel area))

Ren's changed body staggered forth a few steps, becoming more groggy and zombie-like with each leg forward. His breath came out in panting gasps, his body trying as hard as it possibly could to keep him awake.

With one final burst of power, he sped forward, launching one last strike at Lu Bu. His eyes widened in desperation, hoping to get one last attack against the warrior...

...he failed.

Lu had no trouble at all with avoiding the attack from the teen's rapidly ailing body, and despite the urge he had to end him right then and there, he settled for merely knocking him unconscious with a powerful blow to the back of his neck.

Taking a moment to stare at his downed opponent, he idly wondered why he had decided to spare him. He had strength, sure, but it simply wasn't enough to match against him. _'Now...' _a mental voice in the back of his head spoke. Lu chalked it up to his innate warrior's intuition; this teen had been one of, if not the most powerful opponent that he'd faced in a long time. He knew that most anyone else would have easily fallen to his blade long before now.

Hearing a loud explosion just behind him, Lu turned to see that Hu Lao Gate had finally been destroyed by the Alliance's relentless siege efforts. There was now a huge gaping hole in the center of the wall that would lead to Luo Yang. It seemed that he had wasted too much time here.

With one last scant look at the teen, Lu Bu smirked as whistled for his steed. As much as it inwardly loathed him to admit it, he had gained a grudging respect for the teen who lay before him. He was slightly impressed by his tenacity and refusal to back down in battle, and for that, he would give him one last chance; one last chance to prove that he could be the true challenge Lu had been waiting for. As they say, three times' the charm.

If he failed, then he would be gutted and his body left for the buzzards to feast upon.

In the wake of the varied armies of the Alliance resuming their advance, and the other enemies who had attacked him beginning to stir, Lu Bu mounted his horse and rode off beyond the shattered Hu Lao Gate. _'Get stronger, kid...Show me just how worthy or feeble you truly are...!' _he thought as he sped off.

((mindscape))

As the two broke apart from yet another exchange of blows, the man suddenly lowered his weapon and turned, his attention becoming distracted. He had felt a 'snap' within the connection that he had generated through his power.

"_Hmm...it seems that my control has been forcefully cut off." _he remarked, knowing exactly what caused it. "_W-What? You mean..." _Mei began, fearing the worst. _"No, he's not dead, just unconscious. We should consider ourselves fortunate that Lu Bu decided to show mercy." _he finished, alleviating her worries. _"And what will you do now?" _Mei asked.

Her answer came in the form of the man's visage beginning to fade. _"Well, it appears that my time in here is up for now. Don't worry...I'll definitely make my return sometime soon." _he said, only his upper body visible at this point. _"Oh, and before I forget. If you have to know a name to my face, remember...Riu Shang." _he finalized as he finally disappeared. _"I had a lot of fun! I look forward to seeing you and maybe even Ren soon! 'Till then...hahahahahahaha!" _his now disembodied voice called out, his laughter echoing within the mindscape long after he had vanished.

Relinquishing her weapon, Mei could only think on the potential ramifications of this encounter, and what it would mean for Ren...

((outskirts of Luo Yang))

A lone woman reflected on the course of this battle; the feeling of the clash emanating from Hu Lao Gate bringing about the recounting of various encounters that she had gone through in the past.

_'Ren...you're here, aren't you? I wonder; do you still recall the promise that you made to me and Father?' _she thought as she stared wistfully into the direction of the now-destroyed gate...

Notes

There it is, another one down. This is quite possibly one of the longest chapters that I've written so far. This one came out a couple days earlier than expected; I guess that's how far I've checked out from school in this last week. But don't worry, I'm not letting my work ethic suffer..._too _much.

Okay, okay; I'm starting to get mad at myself for repeatedly keeping Diao Chan out of the direct storyline, but with my plan to end the Dong Zhuo saga next chapter, I have absolutely no more reason to do so.

Anyways, I guess that I'm putting my KOF series on hold for a while until I can make some more headway into this series. Oh, well...it's probably for the best that I focus on one story at a time anyways.

Character Ages  
>Dong Zhuo: 52<p>

What will happen to Ren Jiang and his allies? What will Lu Bu's withdrawl from Hu Lao Gate signify for Dong Zhuo's "escape plan"? Find out next time, on Chaos Reigns!

KnightMan1890, signing off! See ya later!


	17. Evanescence

Hi there, people! KnightMan1890 is here once again with the next chapter of Chaos Reigns. I am officially on my first of sixteen days off in a row, so be sure to watch out for more updates in the near future.

Last time, the Lu Bu/Ren Jiang and Mei Lin/Riu Shang battles, along with the siege of Hu Lao Gate finally drew to a close. Now, the stage is set for the end of the Dong Zhuo saga. Who was the onlooking woman, and what was Ren's promise to her and her father? Find out now...

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my original characters.

"speech"

_'thinking' _

"_inner speech"_

"**rage speech"**

(author notes & comments)

((scene change))

previous chapter note

_**responses to reviews**_

_flashback_

_**narration**_

Review Responses

_Awesome PJOHarry – **Thanks, I really worked hard on 'em. Aww, you don't? (sigh) Just another thing to worry about with my school district; irregular break time. Would you believe that we're getting a whole week off next month for THANKSGIVING? Anyways, I think you'll be really surprised by what happened between Ren, Diao, and Wang. **_

(Last time, on Chaos Reigns...)

((Ren vs. Lu))

In the wake of the varied armies of the Alliance resuming their advance, and the other enemies who had attacked him beginning to stir, Lu Bu mounted his horse and and rode off beyond the shattered Hu Lao Gate. _'Get stronger, kid...Show me just how worthy or feeble you truly are...!' _he thought as he sped off.

((Mei vs. Riu))

Her answer came in the form of the man's visage beginning to fade. _"Well, it appears that my time in here is up for now. Don't worry...I'll definitely make my return sometime soon." _he said, only his upper body visible at this point. _"Oh, and before I forget. If you have to know a name to my face, __remember...Riu Shang." _he finalized as he finally disappeared. _"I had a lot of fun! I look forward to seeing you and maybe even Ren soon! 'Till then...hahahahahahaha!" _his now disembodied voice rang out, his laughter echoing within the mindscape long after he had vanished.

Relinquishing her weapon, Mei could only think on the potential ramifications of this encounter, and and what it would mean for Ren...

((unknown female))

A lone woman reflected on the course of this battle, the feeling of the clash emanating from Hu Lao Gate bringing about the recounting of various encounters that she had gone through in the past.

_'Ren...you're here, aren't you? I wonder; do you still recall the promise that you made to me and Father?' _she thought as she stared wistfully into the direction of the now-destroyed gate...

(And now...)

_**The great struggle for the mighty Hu Lao Gate had finally come to a close.**_

_**With the great gate now destroyed and Lu Bu withdrawn, there was nothing that could halt the Allied forces as they resumed their egress.**_

_**However, they must now advance on Luo Yang, the imperial capital of the Han Dynasty, and see to the elimination of the tyrannical Dong Zhuo once and for all.**_

_**What awaits Ren Jiang, his friends, and the rest of the Alliance within the city...?**_

((mindscape))

The harrowing battle against Lu Bu and the transformation that came about from the emergence of Riu Shang caused Ren Jiang to regress into his mind upon being knocked unconscious by Lu.

Lying on the ground of the scape, which had luckily returned to its normal state after the disappearance of Riu, Ren groaned as he felt the feeling begin to return to his body. He felt like every single muscle in his body had been strained beyond all belief, his fatigue hitting an all-time high as the repressed memories of the battle with Lu Bu began to surface.

"_Ren!" _Mei yelled as she ran over to his downed body, her presence having never disappeared from Ren's mind since her battle with Riu. In fact, she was waiting for the teen to appear within his mindscape ever since she was told that he had been knocked unconscious.

Hearing her voice, Ren began to move his arms the slightest fraction of an inch, hoping to make some sort of headway into the struggle that he knew he'd have in trying to even get himself up from the ground. Mei quickly gave her support, grasping his upper body and aiding in his ascent.

He felt every muscle in his body screaming in protest to the exerted effort, but Ren finally managed to reach a sitting position after what seemed an eternity. Panting heavily, Ren took a minute to start any kind of conversation. _'Thanks.' _Ren spoke, still a bit hard of breathing at the moment. _"Are you okay?" _Mei asked, hoping that there wasn't any lasting damage to her tenant's psyche from the interference of Riu. _'Besides wanting to sleep for about 2 weeks or so, I'm good. What the hell happened to me anyways?' _he asked, getting right to the point. Mei shuffled a bit nervously before answering. _"Well, it may take a while to explain..." _she started, not quite sure how to go about the enumeration of the other 'inner'. _'Don't worry, I've got nothing but time in here...If you know about it, then please tell me.' _Ren said sincerely. _"Alright...It started when..."_ she began, recounting the encounter with Riu Shang.

((timeskip; several minutes later))

Ren sighed as he understood the conditions of how Riu came to be within his mind. _'Should've known that there'd be some kind of drawback to using your power besides the fatigue issue...I really didn't expect something like this, though...' _he said despondently as he idly thought of the potential ramifications of this man's appearance.

"_Neither of us could have known that something like this could happen...This man's presence could pose a problem in the future." _Mei remarked, thinking along the same lines as Ren at that point. _'No kidding...I've got a potential psychopath in my own head who can attempt to take over my mind and body at a moment's notice. And what's worse, according to what he said, he's supposed to be a physical manifestation of my own emotion!' _he responded, almost unbelieving at the situation.

"_Indeed...he draws his form from the darker vestiges of your own emotion, which in turn is the catalyst for the usage of my power, which he can then take for his own needs..." _Mei recalled, summarizing the danger in this new force within the teen's mind. _'Yeah...Looks like we're caught between a rock and a hard place with this guy...' _Ren idly spoke, racking his brain for any kind of answer to the situation set before him. _"Do you have any suggestions towards a solution to this problem?" _Mei asked, unsure of any kind of action to go about doing.

After a period of intense thought, Ren came up with one answer.

_'I can only think of one possible chance thus far...cut off all contact with your power.' _Ren answered solemnly, his expression downcast. _"W-What?" _Mei yelled, thunderstruck at the notion. _'Please hear me out here. The appearance of whatever this guy is has shown me just how weak I truly am without the use of your energy.' _Ren said, admitting his shortcomings. _"No, Ren, you're not..." _Mei began, offering a rebuttal, but the teen would hear nothing of it. _'Yes, I am weak!' _he suddenly yelled, cutting her off and shocking her into silence.

_'I barely defeated Hua Xiong...I escaped death by the skin of my teeth with Lu Bu twice only because of it...Riu had enough power to take over my mind and fight you at the same time...I was defeated with barely an effort from Lu Bu when Riu had full control over me...I haven't done anything of true importance for myself without aid from others...' _Ren lamented, the ponderous pressure of all his supposed 'failures' racing through his mind.

His mental tirade was abruptly cut off when Mei suddenly pulled him into an embrace, his eyes widening slightly in surprise.

_'L-Lin...' _he stuttered slightly. _"You are not weak, no matter what you believe. You survived an attack on your village that orphaned you at an early age. You were thrust into battle at the tender age of only 9 years old. Even on your own, you managed to weather battle and suffering as it wore on your very being. Do not think that you are helpless when alone because you seek and receive aid from others. Even the strongest of warriors had at least some help along their path. Do you think that Lu Bu suddenly became as strong as he is overnight? No...he gained his strength through tireless battles and training with other people." _Mei explained to him, caressing his hair like a mother with her child...or a woman with her lover...

Ren was a young man who had been forced to begin maturing early on in his life. The strife that he has endured in the recent years shaped him into what he is today. He was dealt a hard lot; his latest years of childhood were filled with countless deaths, the horrors of war, and of course, her sealing and the later events that came along with it.

With the teen always trying so hard to fulfill a lasting role in the quelling of the chaos in the land, sometimes even she forgot that he was still just that; a 15-year-old teenager, with all the insecurities and other things that were packaged with adolescence.

She constantly worries that he pushes himself too hard, what with all the battles that he's faced already; but, considering what his life had decided to throw at him, not to mention what may happen in the future, it was almost necessary that he do so.

_'I know...and you're right about all that, but...' _Ren started, breaking Mei from her inner musings. _'I have to become strong on my own...There may come a time where I can't access your power, for whatever means. I'll be sure to accept help when I need it, but I'll need to be tough enough when alone, too.' _he continued, explaining his worries about the future.

"_I'll accept that, but you truly wish to cut off all contact with me?" _Mei asked, a bit hurt at the prospect of the request. _'What? No, of course not!' _he responded, alleviating her worry a bit, but raising an unspoken question on the degree of his meaning. _'I mean cutting off the presence of your power within my body for a while. Once I get used to fighting as normal without it, I'll be that much stronger when the time to use it again comes around.' _Ren said, believing it to be a sound plan. _"My power has been within your body for most of your life; it could take years for your body to fully adapt without it." _Mei remarked, noting the trouble that this course of action could potentially bring about.

_'Perfect...I was actually planning to ask Lord Liu Bei and his brothers for training after this battle ended.' _Ren remarked, the slightest smirk visible on his face. _"Oh...Very well, then..." _Mei relented, her face looking slightly downcast. _'I was gonna ask you for some training, too.' _the teen continued, the smirk seeming to increase in its intensity. _"Y-You were?" _she asked, her tone suddenly containing a smidge of...hope?

_'Of course. You didn't think I wouldn't notice that you were a fighter, did you? Surely an all-powerful goddess would have something to teach me that us mere mortals couldn't, correct?' _Ren asked in a 'dramatic' tone, causing Mei to giggle a bit before answering. _"It's nice to see that your observation skills are still up to par, and yes, I will help train you." _she responded, a lighthearted smile on her face.

Before the conversation could go any further, however, a young voice suddenly rang out throughout the mindscape.

"Ren! Come on; wake up, buddy!" it said, a voice that both people immediately recognized.

_'Huh...looks like Ce's calling me. It's time for me to go, then.' _Ren said, getting into a standing position after finally having regained enough energy to do so. He missed Mei pouting a bit at the release of their warm embrace. _'Thanks, Lin. I really owe you one for this.' _he said, truly grateful for Mei's continued support. _"Hmm? And what do you plan to do in order to repay this debt?" _she asked, a light smirk on her face and a strange look in her eyes that Ren didn't feel like learning the meaning of just yet. _'Um...I'll think of something, but for now, see ya later!' _he rapidly spoke out in a mild panic, his visage disappearing from his mindscape.

"_Hehe...Let's see if you can handle what I have in store for you, Ren..." _

((Hu Lao Gate))

"Come on, Ren! Get up!" Sun Ce yelled out desperately to his friend. The other officers who were knocked out by Lu Bu's attack had awakened not long ago, but Ren was still down. "Don't worry so much, Ce. You know that Ren is too stubborn to stay down for long. He's like you that way. Look." Zhou Yu remarked, noticing that the white-haired teen's body was beginning to stir.

Groaning a bit as he was revived from unconsciousness, Ren rose himself up and stood a bit unsteadily on his own two legs. Seeing his slight discomfort, Ce and Zhou held on to his arms for a bit in order to steady him.

"Hey, good to see that you're back to the land of the living, Ren." Ce remarked, he and Zhou now letting their friend stay under his own power. "Yeah...Ugh, what happened while we were knocked out here anyways?" Ren responded, standing still for a bit as he waiting for his light disorientation to disappear.

Looking around, he noted that Hu Lao Gate seemed to have been hit by a giant wrecking ball, a huge, gaping hole in the wall where the metal gate was supposed to be. He also saw that the Alliance in its entirety was advancing once again, most likely due to the fact that Lu Bu appeared to have withdrawn. "Where'd Lu Bu go?" Ren asked, wondering what possible reason the warrior could've had for retreating. "With the destruction of Hu Lao Gate, he must have thought that defending it had become a lost cause." Sun Jian answered, he and Huang Gai having stayed with Sun Ce and Zhou Yu in order to oversee Ren's recovery.

"So, we're heading into Luo Yang now, right?" Ren asked. "Yep! We were just waiting for you to wake up before our force started moving out again." Ce answered, eager to get going. "Well, let's not wait any longer. Let's go." Ren responded, the others complying and heading through the hole in the wall.

At the breach's epicenter, the red-wearing force was met by Liu Bei and his brothers, along with Jin Zang. The four newcomers all had somber and solemn looks on their faces. "Lord Liu Bei, Uncle, what's wrong?" Ren asked of the older men. "It's best if you come and see for yourselves." Liu Bei answered gravely.

Making scant glances at each other with looks of trepidation, the other officers quickly followed behind, wishing to see what the problem was. They got their answer with a ringing authority as they came closer and closer to the imperial city of Luo Yang...

...or at least, what was _left _of it.

The _entire _city looked to have been put to the torch and burned to the ground. The once great capital, a symbol of the Han rule, had been reduced to nothing but a pile of smoldering ashes.

Bodies lay _everywhere_. These were the unfortunate people who were unable to escape the blaze. The ranks of the searing corpses mainly included various men in armor, apparently members of Dong Zhuo's _own _forces.

Blackened smoke arose from the utterly ruined buildings as the Allied forces walked through its depths. The sky was cloudy, and it looked like it would rain soon. Perhaps the Heavens wished to cry at the example of unrestrained cruelty displayed here by Dong Zhuo, and wash away the stain that it left on the very earth itself.

Ren's face changed to an increasing visage of horror as he looked to and fro, seeing first-hand what Dong Zhuo was truly capable of when backed into a corner. _'Dong Zhuo...how could he?' _Ren asked his tenant. _"This is what a true tyrant will do when faced with an unfavorable situation...escape and leave a path of destruction along the way." _Mei answered solemnly, gazing into the scene through Ren's mind's eye. _'But this...sacrificing even his own men in order to get away...?' _Ren continued, absolutely appalled at Dong's callous disregard for even his own allies.

_'I wonder...if she was still here...what-' _he began as he switched into a new train of thought, but abruptly stopped as he saw a flash of _something _off to the side in the distance. Normally, he would ignore such a thing, but some strange instinct, which had nothing to do with either of his tenants, told him to go there and see for himself.

Reigning in the impulse to inform some of the others, he walked towards that way, unknowing of what was in store...

((with the others))

_'T-This cannot be! The grand capital of the Han...completely destroyed!'_ Yuan Shao thought, unbelieving of what the great capital had been reduced to.

"My lord, what shall our next course of action be?" Yuan's loyal retainer, Zhang He, asked. "Hmm...Dong Zhuo's forces must have made an exodus out of the capital long beforehand. And currently, we have no idea where he could have gone. For now, we will leave this place and plot our next move later. Let's go; I can't bear to witness the depravity of this once great city any longer." he ordered, the young officer doing as he was told and delivering the order to several others.

The other armies of the Alliance had little trouble leaving the area along with the force of their grand commander, the thought to pursue Dong Zhuo having been erased from their minds, no matter how satisfying the thought may have been.

Cao Cao was one of the last to leave. He was again thinking of the young teen who had aided in his escape from Dong Zhuo's clutches just a year ago. His cousins, Xiahou Dun and Xiahou Yuan came up to him, awaiting his next orders. "The troops are ready to march, Cousin. Is something on your mind?" Dun asked, noticing Cao's thoughtful expression. "That boy we encountered before...something tells me the explosion that occurred at Hu Lao Gate before its destruction was not fully caused by Lu Bu." the Hero of Chaos mused, his analytical mind coming to the forefront.

"You think that kid had a hand in it somehow?" Xiahou Yuan asked, figuring that was the most likely response. "Yes. I believe that there is more to him than we know." Cao answered, still slightly lost in his train of thought. "You think that we should recruit him to our forces?" Dun asked, thinking that was the most likely the next suggested course of action. "Not yet. He has repaid his debt to me for my hospitality by proving himself in this battle, and I have repaid my debt to him for his aid by giving him the chance to do so. For that, he shall escape my scrutiny for now." Cao answered, Dun and Yuan nodding. _'Of course, that is a viable option...perhaps acquiring him for my services would be to my benefit...' _Cao thought to himself, pondering on the pros and cons of such an action as he and his army began to move out.

((with Sun Jian's forces))

The only forces who hadn't left the now-destroyed city of Luo Yang were those of Sun Jian's and Liu Bei's.

Liu Bei and his brothers had responded to Yuan Shao's latest order and had began to head out, while Jin Zang, under Liu Bei's request, moved elsewhere in search of Ren Jiang, who had disappeared from the main unit for reasons unknown.

Sun Jian and his forces stayed within Luo Yang for a while longer. Perhaps it was fate that they did so...

"Look at this...that animal, we never should have let him go." Sun Ce remarked, enraged at what Dong Zhuo had done to the city. "Such a terrible course of action...Dong Zhuo is truly a man of evil." Zhou Yu responded, equally disgusted at Dong pulling something like this.

Sun Jian, while not blind to the angry mutterings of them and several others in his army, couldn't help but notice...that something, caught under the light granted by the clouds that were beginning to clear, was reflecting said light, gleaming with an almost supernatural glow.

Wondering what it was, Jian walked over to it, his action catching the attention of a few others. It was something shining within a well in the middle of the clearing. Picking it up, Jian was completely and utterly astonished to see that it was...

...the Imperial Seal of the Han Dynasty!

((with Ren))

Reaching some sort of courtyard, the white-haired teen looked around, searching for anything that could have matched with whatever he saw.

Sensing a danger in the air, the human sixth sense within him told him to turn, quickly, and lucky that he did...

...or he would have been decapitated by a whip-like blade that suddenly lashed out at him!

Reacting swiftly, he swung his spear in such a way that deflected the attack backwards, hopefully towards its owner. He kept his weapon at the ready, in case of any continuation to the assault. "Who's there? Come out!" he yelled in an ordering tone, wanting to see his attacker with his own eyes.

The person did as was asked, walking out from behind one of the destroyed houses that were around the area. The identity of his assailant turned out to be one of the most _beautiful _women, besides Mei, that Ren had ever laid eyes on.

The female was of a relatively decent height, just about a head shorter than Ren. The top half of what she wore looked to be a sort of bodysuit that did little to hide her budding figure; in fact, besides shielding her abdomen in a black veil, it only covered enough of the front part of her upper body to keep her modest, a pink, semi-transparent cloth being what kept her breastplate anchored to her body; said cloth doing very little to hide the cleavage from her sizeable bust.

The bottom half of the outfit, separated from the top by a black silk belt with a flower-like buckle, looked to be a three-sided dress that extended to her ankles, the color being a pink at the bottom that gradually darkened into black as it got closer to her midsection. It was covered in intricate silver designs, and the very bottom was draped with diamonds that matched her eye color. The front side was completely open, showing off her slender legs and a sectioned-off portion of the dress, dark pink and purple in color, that just _barely _kept her lower modesty as she was moving.

Her clothing was accentuated by various jewelry that she wore on her person. A dark-colored necklace that had a small golden chain attachment which fell just between the cusp of her cleavage, similarly-colored anklets that each had a single golden chain wrapped around them, a bedazzled diamond and gold necklace that was worn on her head, keeping the top part of her hair in place, and bracelets that were connected by an magnificent cloth to the only pieces of armor that she wore; small pads on her bare arms just below her shoulders. The look was only completed by the black heels that she wore, golden at the tips.

Her hair had a dark-reddish tint to it, almost to the point where it could be considered ruby, and was straight, flowing all the way down to her abdomen. The top part of her hair was curled into a bow and held that way by a golden crown embezzled with various jewels. Her skin was a creamy-white, and was absolutely flawless, not a single blemish in existence. Her figure was lean and slender, but had curvature in _all _the right places, a fact that only increased her physical appear when combined with her choice of outfits. Her eyes looked to be a fusion of emerald-green and sapphire-blue in color, and they contained in them a veiled purpose that was effectively shielded from many by her looks alone, especially her disarming smile that constantly permeated her supple, pink lips.

In short, she was probably the only mortal who could match Mei in sheer beauty.

She strode towards a still-shocked Ren with a grace that only she could have, looking to the rest of the world like a butterfly spreading its wings...or a rose that only just kept its thorns under wraps.

Stopping in her stride just a few feet away from the white-haired teen, she stood mostly still as the male took a minute to recover from his shell-shocked state.

"D-Diao Chan?"

Notes

Readers...This is quite possibly my longest chapter yet; 3,816 words, not including these closing notes or anything before the opening narration...and not a single fight scene in here.

Anyways, sorry that I didn't actually get into what the past between Ren, Diao, and Wang was...this was a perfect opportunity for a Friday cliffhanger that I just couldn't miss.

Moving on, this chapter will technically be considered the final one for the Dong Zhuo saga in a sense, as the next update will only involve flashbacks into the past between the aforementioned three, and the one after that will be the interlude that links the "Elimination of Dong Zhuo" battle into the next one, Xu Province.

I may or may not get the next chapter up before the weekend's out; my break has just gotten started, and I'm planning on spending a good chunk of it on hanging out with my buds.

Please don't be too mad at me for holding back the true tale once again...the two flashbacks will each be somewhat sizeable, and this chapter has already nearly hit 4,000 words as is, so there.

Character Ages  
>Diao Chan: 14<p>

I am _not _lying to you; according to reliable records, she was born in the year 176, making her only 14 years of age at the time of the Si Shui-Hu Lao Gate battles. Now you see the second reason that I made Ren as old as he is, only a single year older than her.

P.S. I used a total of 517 words in the description of Diao Chan _alone_.

Real quick, does anyone else wonder why the Allied forces retreated after the battle of Hu Lao Gate? Yes, Dong Zhuo burned down Luo Yang and fled, but the Alliance surely could've chased after him, couldn't they? I don't know...it's just something that's bothered me for a while. Respond in your reviews, please!

With that, KnightMan1890 is signing off! Later!


	18. Remembrance, Part I

And I'm back, once again. KnightMan1890, here with the next chapter of Chaos Reigns: RNH. I've been out for the past few days because I recently joined PlayStation Network as well as restarted my Steam account. Between those two things and my real friends on top of them, a lot of my time will be occupied. I'll keep writing in my free time though, so don't worry too much.

Last time, the forces of the Alliance bore witness to the devastation that Dong Zhuo had inflicted upon the imperial capital of Luo Yang. Going off on a tangent during the event, Ren Jiang has encountered a face from his past. What will happen now? Find out...

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my original characters.

"speech"

_'thinking' _

"_inner speech"_

"**rage speech"**

(author notes & comments)

((scene change))

previous chapter note

_**responses to reviews**_

_flashback_

_**narration**_

Review Responses

_Awesome PJOHarry – **Your guess seems plausible...Frankly, I have no idea what it could've been. In this order; thanks, cool, and I'm sure you do. Honestly, I couldn't accurately describe Diao Chan's appearance within a single paragraph; there's just...so much to it. I did my best in trying to describe her DW7 look, but proofreading it, I can see how it would be construed as her DW6 look. Yes, the powers will be gone for a while. Seemed like something that Ren oughta do. As for your last statement, uh...*stares at you with a blank expression* Mei will be with Ren, or possibly Riu IF I can manage to make that work somehow, so there.**_

_Aryk Von Straln –_ _**Hmm...that seems about right. In DW4, it showed that he began the fire just as the Allied forces had broken through the gates to Luo Yang, catching them off guard and retreating amidst the confusion. That's probably the most effective way of handling it. I've always wondered which DW game adheres to the actual history(or at least, the novel) the most...I think DW7 fits the bill with DW5 being second. **_

_SilentNinja_(actually a PM, not a review, but I have a response regardless) – _**You have some very valid points, and I'll take them into account when I do the Xia Pi battle, but realize that besides Zhou Yu, none of the people who faced Lu Bu in my story so far had their skills focused mainly on ****intelligence. Also, Ren was being controlled by his 'evil' inner, Riu Shang, and thus couldn't develop a real strategy when he was fighting alone besides attack, attack, and attack again until either victory or death(in this case, unconsciousness). The reason Lu Bu began to grudgingly respect Ren was because of how he was fighting when that happened; the style mirrored his own to an certain extent. Regardless, thanks for the advice! I didn't really realize the true strategy part, as I rarely play ROTK...**_

(Last time, on Chaos Reigns...)

((Cao Cao's forces))

"You think that kid had a hand in it somehow?" Xiahou Yuan asked, figuring that was the most likely response. "Yes. I believe that there is more to him than we know." Cao answered, still slightly lost in his train of thought. "You think that we should recruit him to our forces?" Dun asked, thinking that was the most likely the next suggested course of action. "Not yet. He has repaid his debt to me for my hospitality by proving himself in this battle, and I have repaid my debt to him for his aid by giving him the chance to do so. For that, he shall escape my scrutiny for now." Cao answered, Dun and Yuan nodding. _'Of course, that is a viable option...perhaps acquiring him for my services would be to my benefit...' _Cao thought to himself, pondering on the pros and cons of such an action as he and his army began to move out.

((Sun Jian's forces))

Sun Jian, while not blind to the angry mutterings of them and several others in his army, couldn't help but notice...that something, caught under the light granted by the clouds that were beginning to clear, was reflecting said light, gleaming with an almost supernatural glow.

Wondering what it was, Jian walked over to it, his action catching the attention of a few others. It was something shining within a well in the middle of the clearing. Picking it up, Jian was completely and utterly astonished to see that it was...

...the Imperial Seal of the Han Dynasty!

((Ren Jiang))

In short, she was probably the only mortal who could match Mei in sheer beauty. 

She strode towards a still-shocked Ren with a grace that only she could have, looking to the rest of the world like a butterfly spreading its wings...or a rose that only just kept its thorns under wraps. 

Stopping in her stride just a few feet away from the white-haired teen, she stood mostly still as the male took a minute to recover from his shell-shocked state. 

"D-Diao Chan?"

(And now...)

_**The great city of Luo Yang was in shambles.**_

_**The Allied force has decided to retreat, as per the orders of its commander, Yuan Shao. Dong Zhuo would get what was coming to him soon enough...**_

_**Sun Jian, through a seemingly miraculous stroke of luck within the squalor conditions, has discovered the Imperial Seal, the symbol of the Han Dynasty.**_

_**And now, we come to a fateful meeting between Ren Jiang and an apparently familiar face. What is the mysterious past between the two?**_

((Luo Yang; clearing))

"D-Diao Chan?" Ren asked tentatively, slightly in disbelief at the sudden encounter he now faced.

"It's quite pleasant to see you again, Ren, even if you are a bit worse for wear." Diao answered, affirming the male teen's question as she sized up his new self.

Ren's appearance had moderately changed since the last time she had seen him; he looked to have hit a growth spurt, having grown nearly a foot taller since back then. His muscles were a bit more prominent and defined; not enough to make him appear as a muscle-bound hulk, he still in fact looked relatively thin, but enough to fill out the somewhat lanky structure that he'd had in the past. She also noted with a bit of surprise that he had let his hair down, the mane cascading over his face and reaching his shoulders, partially obscuring his right eye. It only served to heighten the mysterious nature that seemed to permeate him, something that she secretly enjoyed.

"Is something wrong?" Ren asked, noticing that Diao seemed to be a bit lost in thought. "No...I was just thinking...of the time we first met..." she answered, the recollection of the memory coming easily to her. "Hehe...that _was _interesting..." he responded, his mind drifting into the past as well.

((flashback))

_It was two years ago; the year 188, in the middle of the time period between the Yellow Turban Rebellion and the battle against Dong Zhuo._

_Ren Jiang, having finally escaped the pursuit of his previous captors, the remnants of the fallen Yellow Turban army, had absolutely no idea where he was. _

_Scantly looking around, he noticed he was warm, and that he was covered in a sleeping cot somewhere within what looked to be a darkened room inside a house, a moderately fancy one at that. 'Well, this already feels familiar...' he thought, recalling a similar situation from his first encounter with Liu Bei and his brothers._

_At that thought, the 13-year-old raised himself to a sitting position and racked his memories for what had happened to him this time. 'Oh, yeah...I finally got away from those leftover Turbans, and then I passed out due to the lack of nourishment. Tch...those guys were lousy jailors.' he thought as he recalled the events that led him here._

_He had been imprisoned by what had remained of the defeated Yellow Turban army. According to them, they hoped that they could harness the power he unleashed against Zhang Jiao for their own needs, hopefully giving them the ability to reform their fallen force with both the other remnants and new soldiers._

_However, they were increasingly incensed at what they believed was a refusal from the boy to draw upon the power a second time, as whenever they ordered him to, he simply stood still and stated that he merely couldn't. With that, they beat him for the perceived insubordination and kept him locked up until they could find a way to possibly force it out of him. _

_What they didn't realize, however, was that the boy's inability to release the energy again was not from a lack of trying; in fact, Ren had indeed done as they asked and attempted to unleash it every single time, hoping that it would kick in again and give him the chance to escape from this prison. But, to do so, he felt he had to stay completely still and focus in order to draw on it of his own volition. The process apparently took much longer than expected, though, and the lack of response prompted the anger of the soldiers who thought that he simply wasn't trying to do so at all. _

_Of course, the assaults wouldn't continue non-reciprocated for long. It was only a matter of time before Ren snapped, his inner power awakening once again in response to the boy's rising emotion. In a burst of outright rage, the boy ruthlessly killed all the members of the small force, and in a stroke of unexpected sanity, freed all the other people whom they had captured along their travels._

_Afterwards, Ren simply ran as fast and hard as he could, using the adrenaline rush to keep his body from its imminent collapse as long as possible. His young frame couldn't keep it up for long, though, as the energy rush finally gave out and he fell into unconsciousness within an unknown area._

_'And then I ended up here...Which is where, anyways?' Ren thought as he removed himself from the cot and got up, looking every which way for a clue as to where he was. Looking down a bit, he noticed that he was wearing the same clothing he had worn since the Rebellion, his apparel having apparently been repaired and cleaned from the harrowing trip he had undertaken in order to reach wherever he's at now._

_Hearing the sound of a door opening, he turned and saw a young-looking guard walking in, presumably to check on his condition. "Oh, I see you have awakened." he stated voice that belied his age, noticing the boy's state. Signaling another soldier who was outside, he relayed the message along with an order. "Report to Lord Wang Yun and Lady Diao Chan. Tell them that the boy we found has woken up." he said, the other complying with his wishes immediately and heading off._

_Turning back to the boy, he regarded him as the younger male stared back, unflinching. The guard couldn't help but be startled a bit at the look in the boy's eyes; it was as if something else was hidden behind those cerulean-blue orbs. Shaking his head a bit, he disregarded the thought, not putting anymore stock into such a hunch._

_"You seemed very injured when we first found you on our patrol yesterday, but if you are well enough, then would you perhaps like to meet our lord and lady? They have been wishing to speak with you for a while. Finding an otherwise healthy young boy alone and laid out on the ground unconscious is a long ways away from the norm around here." he said, reiterating the request of his leaders._

_Ren nodded, the slightest hint of trepidation showing on his visage. Lord Liu Bei and his brothers may have been kind to him, but others may not be the same. Hell, just think about the experiences he's had with the Han soldiers and Yellow Turban remnants. Following the guard's lead, he left to see the leaders of those who had decided to rescue him this time..._

_((timeskip))_

_The white-haired teen's fears were fortunately proven to be unfounded._

_Wang Yun, the viceroy of the territory that he had been brought to, was a compassionate leader who listened intently to Ren's tale on the situation he had found himself in. Unwilling to simply leave the young teen in need, he granted him asylum within his castle for as long as was needed._

_Ren was eternally grateful to the man for his thoughtfulness, and repaid his debt by doing various things around the castle, even aiding the various servants around the area with some of their duties._

_Throughout the near-year he had spent there, the teen's presence had gradually come to be enjoyed within the province. He was always polite and well-mannered, many times humbling himself in the faces of others so as not to appear prideful or arrogant, even when people acknowledged his abilities. He was moderately intelligent for his age, able to aid in even the more complicated tasks through input by both himself and other people. He was caring towards others, as shown when he rescued a young female from a sudden attack by a bear after she had wandered a bit too far from the main castle._

_He had nearly flown into a rage at the sight he saw when he first arrived at the scene: the animal had the girl pinned down by one of its massive paws, and it looked as though it was about to rip her throat out! Although he had suffered a nasty gash across his right arm from the animal's claws for the effort, after a few slashes with his sword and a bad scar inflicted on the bear's left eye, Ren managed to drive the beast away with no harm done to the female. _

_Asking if she was okay as he helped her to her feet, he had just enough time to re-sheathe his weapon before the girl practically threw herself on him, wrapping her arms around his frame as she begin sobbing into his chest. Apparently, the ordeal had affected her a bit more than Ren realized at first. Remaining silent, he held her with his uninjured arm, gently stroking his hand along her back as she let out her emotions at the fear of her young life suddenly becoming snuffed out by such an event. Ren ignored his own injury, as it was already in the process of being healed by his newfound tenant, Mei Lin._

_The white-haired teen later discovered that the girl he had saved was Diao Chan, the adopted daughter of Wang Yun._

_((after the ordeal))_

_Wang Yun was truly gratified to Ren when he came back to the main castle while carrying a sleeping Diao Chan on his back; even going as far as saying that any debt Ren still believed he owed was completely repaid. Ren thanked the leader at this gesture, and only asked if he would be allowed to stay within the castle grounds and surrounds for just a while longer. Wang easily complied with the request, even giving the teen his own room that neared both Diao's and his own in location. Although Ren tried to say that it was not needed, Wang rebuffed him, saying that it was given as thanks for what he had done._

_The young warrior relented after that, giving the 12-year-old girl on his back to the care of her father and leaving to his new quarters._

_The event, along with Ren's naturally attractive looks and personality, served to endear him to the other female inhabitants of the castle and even the surrounding towns as time continued to pass, the end of the year 188 quickly approaching. News traveled swiftly around here, it seemed. This meant that he became subject to various acts of hero worship. Normally, they were distant; pointing at him as he walked by, then blushing and/or giggling whenever he noticed them and responded with a light smile and a quick wave. Others were a bit bolder, the ranks of which mainly including ones who were a few years older. These girls put him through the occasional hair-ruffling and even playful cheek-pulling; shoot, one 15-year-old even embraced him outright and gave him a chaste kiss on his cheek, enjoying the somewhat stunned look that he donned on his reddening face afterwards._

_Ren, being the nice guy that he was and still is, could only blush in varying degrees of embarrassment at the attention he was receiving from the opposite gender. He never really rejected it, seeing as he did usually respond kindly to whatever was being thrown at him, but he never truly accepted it either, the mannerisms of the other girls coming off as a bit odd in his mind._

_However, he did occasionally think of the girl he had rescued from the bear assault a while ago. He had only seen her in passing ever since the event, and while he didn't find anything particularly wrong with that, he also realized that it set her apart from most of the other girls within the vicinity; he dare thought that if she was of a similar mindset as them, she'd be all over him 24/7. He didn't really know much about her at all, the very few things he did know mainly coming through her father and others who knew her._

_It was quite interesting, indeed...Little did he know, the girl in question was thinking similar thoughts about a certain white-haired teen..._

_He was...somewhat of an enigma, to state it bluntly. He didn't act like other males in regards to what he had done. He had comforted her, with no ill will or hidden intent mixed in anywhere, even going as far as ignoring his own injury! Although she had seen him around the castle grounds many a time, she had only conversed with him on a few occasions since the ordeal had happened, apparently he had deigned to leave her to her own devices; most men would have believed that the woman was indebted to him for his aid, but not this young teen. Not once did he say anything that would pertain to such a thought. In fact, he usually only inquired as to her present condition at the time, generally asking how she felt and if he could do anything for her. The event was never even mentioned in their conversation._

_He was well-mannered, despite his possibly orphaned status, always saying please and thank you to others and even having good table manners, quite a surprise coming from a growing 13-year-old male. He took stock in the work that he did, but he was far from arrogant, never failing to ask for help from others should be find himself unable to perform a task alone. He obviously exuded a caring for others, especially shown when he saved her from the bear that she had encountered. He didn't care too much for reveling in attention, giving his actions with his newfound 'fangirls'._

_Of course, Diao didn't overlook the fact that he was quite handsome; she knew that he'd be a real lady-killer as he got older, his exotic silver-white hair and cerulean-blue eyes providing an extra push in that direction. However, the girl prided herself on being able to look underneath what existed on the surface of individuals. It helped in her evasion of the more...unsavory individuals whom her father consorted with as a member of Dong Zhuo's army._

_Looking into Ren, however, there was only uncertainty. She simply couldn't make him out from a single glance alone. One minute, he's cheerful and happy, the norm for a typical teen; but the next, he's a fierce warrior with a blazing emotion to match. She had only seen him angry on two occasions; the encounter with the bear, and one instance within the castle where a soldier from Dong's personal army, who had come to deliver orders from the ruler to Wang Yun, attempted to make a pass at her; the white-haired teen happened to be in the area. Next thing she knew, the man had been knocked out from a blow to the back of his neck by the enraged teen, the individual even using his fist rather than any blunt portion of his sword._

_About to leave, Ren muttered a distinct 'disgusting' aimed at the guard before turning to Diao and giving her a slight bow. After that, he simply turned and left the room; no words were exchanged, they didn't need to be._

_Imagine her surprise later that same day when she found out that the teen was into music as a hobby..._

_((that encounter))_

_It was a relatively cool day in the midst of late-October. The season of autumn had already set in, transforming the leaves on the trees into a plethora of colors._

_Within the gardens located just behind his new living arrangement, Ren was taking a break from his self-appointed training. His upper clothing had been shed after nearly half a day's work...even the breezy fall air couldn't stop the heat and sweat he'd gained thanks to the exerted effort._

_Steadying his breathing, he reached into a pocket and took out a small metal instrument, a flute._

_He had gained it during his time of imprisonment within the camp of the remnant Yellow Turbans. A good friend he had gained during his stay, named Cai Wenji, had taught him how to play. The older female had become like an older sister to him within that time...she was the first he had freed when he went on his rampage._

_Repressing the memories of that time for the moment, he began playing. It was, at first, a neutral tune that belied his uncertainty about the things he had gone through in recent times, and what could happen in the future. The notes gradually became more melancholy as he closed his eyes and began thinking of his uncle, Jin Zang, along with Liu Bei and his brothers._

_Would he ever see them again? Did they have any idea as to what happened? Had they forgotten about him? All the questions and what-ifs swirled throughout his head just as before; this time, however, his inner thoughts were cut off by the appearance of a sudden weight on his lap. Noting that he had finished his song, he opened his eyes and looked down, mildly surprised at seeing that the weight shift was caused by a small orange fox cub who was staring intently at him._

_Not knowing exactly what to do, Ren merely stared at the fox for a bit as it shuffled around a bit, raising to its hind legs as it tried to reach the young teen's face. Setting down the flute, Ren picked up the small animal, holding it towards his upper body. The fox, no longer needing to stretch as much as before, craned its body a bit in order to look the teen practically nose to snout. "Hmm...what are you doing here, little guy?" Ren asked. The fox's only response was to yip once and begin licking the teen's face, prompting a round of laughter from the young male as he was quite ticklish in that area._

_After about half a minute, the fox settled down and got back into its relaxed position in Ren's arms, its body curling together. Ren, coming to enjoy the animal's playful nature, began scratching behind the fox's ears, prompting it to start purring a bit at the sensation and snuggle closer to Ren's chest._

_Suddenly sensing something, the fox's ears twitched as it turned to face a seemingly random direction, Ren's gaze following soon afterwards. As it turned out, it was Diao Chan, who had heard Ren's playing of his instrument from beginning to end. Seeing his interaction with the little fox as well, she only had one thought in her mind at that point..._

_'Ren Jiang is quite the interesting individual...one whom I wholeheartedly plan to unravel...'_

_((within the castle))_

_Wang Yun watched intently as he saw the interaction between his daughter, the young teen, and the little fox. He too, was surprised at Ren's usage of a musical instrument such as the flute, and he became even more so when Diao left for a bit and came back with her own instrument, most likely intending to play a duet with him._

_He had never seen his daughter so...relaxed before. She was always so determined to fulfill any of his wishes, but she never fully realized that his **true **wish was for her to live the normal life of a growing young woman...a life he knew could never come to pass for her._

_But now, seeing her with this young boy, Ren Jiang...it made him think on several things. 'Ren Jiang...perhaps you can aid us in our mission...and maybe, just maybe...you can become a part of the future that I would wish upon my dear Diao Chan...' the minister thought as his mind became a veritable whirlwind of planning..._

((flashback end))

"Yeah...those were some fun times..." Ren remarked wistfully as came back from the memory of his time under the guardianship of Wang Yun. "Of course, that's when things went terribly wrong..." he continued, his voice shifting into a sadder tone. "Indeed..." Diao responded, the two teen's minds regressing to a more unpleasant memory...

Notes

And there it is. Originally, I never intended it to be this long; this is only the first of the planned two flashbacks. Oh well, you see half of the past between Ren, Diao, and Wang, along with some more insight on Ren's adventures during his time away from Liu Bei's forces.

Next chapter will finish off this admittedly long flashback. What does Wang Yun have in store for Diao and Ren? What happened later down the line? Find out next time, on Chaos Reigns!

KnightMan1890, signing off! See ya!


	19. Remembrance, Part II

Hah! I'm back, once again, with the newest installment of Chaos Reigns: RNH. Glad to be back after so long; I actually took some time off for the second week of my fall break, mainly just out of laziness. I didn't start writing this until last Monday during some downtime at school.

Anyways; last time, we began a look into the past, showing how Ren Jiang's life became intertwined with those of Wang Yun and Diao Chan. Now, I jumped the gun a bit with my prediction last chapter...we'll have another plotline advancement section before getting to where things actually went wrong. I sincerely apologize if this disappoints you.

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my original characters.

"speech"

_'thinking' _

"_inner speech"_

"**rage speech"**

(author notes & comments)

((scene change))

previous chapter note

_**responses to reviews**_

_flashback_

_**narration**_

Review Responses

_Awesome PJOHarry –_ _**Yes, a flashback that will conclude in this update. Meh, the Turbans got what they deserved; a violent end by the very power that they wished to control. Eh...couldn't think of much else for the initial Diao-Ren scene. I needed something that would present a sense of chivalry from Ren's standpoint, and I couldn't think of a more dangerous animal that existed back then. Yeah, just attribute it to surprise. Well, what WOULD they call it back then? Ah, young love...Oh, f***, I've said too much. The music scene was a slightly modern spin on this ancient tale. No idea if foxes actually lived back then, but it was one of the few wild animals that I could portray as cute without being too stereotypical. Having it as a pet, huh? I think that could work. As for the cliffhanger...Muahahahahahahahahaha!**_

(Last time, on Chaos Reigns)

((end of flashback))

_He had never seen his daughter so...relaxed before. She was always so determined to fulfill any of his wishes, but she never fully realized that his **true **wish was for her to live the normal life of a growing young woman...a life he knew could never come to pass for her._

_But now, seeing her with this young boy, Ren Jiang...it made him think on several things. 'Ren Jiang...perhaps you can aid us in our mission...and maybe, just maybe...you can become a part of the future that I would wish upon my dear Diao Chan...' the minister thought as his mind became a veritable whirlwind of planning..._

((final scene))

"Yeah...those were some fun times..." Ren remarked wistfully as he came back from the memory of his time under the guardianship of Wang Yun. "Of course, that's when things went terribly wrong..." he continued, his voice shifting into a sadder tone. "Indeed..." Diao responded, the two teen's minds regressing to a more unpleasant memory...

(And now...)

_**Memories of the past...**_

_**Here, we continue to relive the history between Ren Jiang, Diao Chan, and Wang Yun.**_

_**What other events transpired between the three? How has it affected their potential future? Let us have a look...**_

((new flashback))

_Things were relatively normal within the confines of the castle and its surrounds for a while afterwards. Matters went on as usual with nothing particularly interesting happening; that is, until a seemingly normal evening..._

_The sky was gradually becoming darkened, the telltale white lights of the moon and stars already beginning to appear. Many others were turning in for the day as the guardsmen shifted to the nighttime patrol rounds._

_Ren, now almost 14 years old as nearly a full year had passed since his arrival at the castle, was heading towards his bedchambers after his latest training session. The young teen let his mind wander as was usual when he was alone. He thought of the time he had spent here along with the events that had occurred. Although he was forever grateful to Wang Yun and Diao Chan for their continued hospitality, he couldn't help but regress back to the thoughts of his uncle, along with Lord Liu Bei and his brothers. It had been a long time since he had seen them last. 'I wonder if they've even been looking for me...' he thought as he continued his trek through the castle._

_The various hallways within the edifice had become a near-deathly quiet after the passing of the voices of its usual inhabitants. Even the natural sounds of the nightlife seemed to have been muted in favor of the silence that permeated the area. Having nearly reached his quarters, Ren's pace slowed to a halt as he suddenly began to hear muffled voices, appearing to be coming from the bedchambers of Wang Yun, merely two doors down from his own room._

_His curiosity getting the better of him, the young teen silently crept towards the door and pressed his ear against it, hoping that he would be able to clearly make out the voices' origins._

((inside))

_The light speech happened to be between Wang Yun and Diao Chan, the apparent secrecy of the matter not lost on Ren._

"_My daughter, I fear that Dong Zhuo may not remain oblivious to our plans for much longer." the minister spoke in a hushed tone, a hint of apprehension settled into his voice. "How can that be, Father? This charade has been kept alive for nearly 2 years, and that man hasn't suspected a single matter to be amiss. What could have changed that?" the songstress asked, unable to keep the surprise from her similarly hushed voice._

"_Although the tyrant himself may still be ignorant for now, some of his retainers are not so small-minded, Li Ru and Zhang Liao being prime examples. Although they might not be able to discover you, my involvement in the matter may very well be in danger." Wang explained, bringing his fears on the subject to the forefront. "Should my position be compromised..." he began, but a silent yell from his daughter cut him off. "No! That is something...I just can't let happen, Father. If you are discovered, then you will be executed! I just...I can't bear the thought of losing you...and being all alone again..." Diao said, tears beginning to moisten her eyes at the idea._

"_Diao Chan..." the minister said, pulling his adopted daughter into an embrace. She returned it eagerly, letting out her previously unshed tears at the fears and doubts that repeatedly plagued her mind. The two merely stayed that way for a few somber minutes, the only source of sound being Diao Chan's diminished sobs._

((outside))

_Deciding that that was pretty much the end of the talk, the young teen was about to turn and walk away; that is, until..._

"_And what of Ren?" he heard Diao's voice ask after a period of silence. Jerking slightly in surprise, he couldn't keep the shock from registering on his face, as shown by the usual widening of the eyes. How did he factor into all this? Returning to his position, he listened further..._

((inside))

"_And what of Ren?" Diao asked, recovering from her outpouring of emotion. "What of him?" Wang questioned in response, although already having an inkling as to the eventual answer. "Despite his age, I believe that he is more astute and observant than he wishes to let on. Throughout my encounters with him, I have always played the part of discretion, but sometimes...I could feel him staring at me, or perhaps, **into **me, as if searching for some true intention. It wasn't so apparent at first, but I feel as though I walk on thin ice when around him at times...and I am almost certain he knows that as well." Diao explained, noting Ren's slightly changing demeanor as time went on._

_Although he looked to have retained his boisterous and outgoing nature, he occasionally pulled a complete one-eighty, regressing into a secluded nature and radiating a calmness that seemed...almost inhuman when coming from the position of a seemingly normal 13-year-old boy. During these instances, he generally played music on his flute within the fields on the outskirts of the castle grounds, another odd quality that was attributed to him. Of course, the true reason as to Ren's gradual 'change' was unknown to both her and Wang Yun..._

_Ren had been imprisoned by the remnants of the Yellow Turban army merely a single month after the death of Zhang Jiao. Having gone through life almost completely alone afterwards, combined with already containing a slightly developed mind to begin with, and one is bound to learn things that others would generally overlook simply due to circumstance._

_The young teen wasn't only training his body during his stay at the home of Wang Yun; he enlisted the tutelage of his new tenant, Mei Lin, in order to better prepare his mind for any future trials that may lie ahead._

_One aspect she made sure to focus on was the mental reading of others; the ability to scan one's bodily actions for any hints of lies or deceit, a trait that would prove useful in his interactions with Diao Chan. The matter didn't seem to apply to her, what with her usually collected nature; even the fox who stuck around didn't look to notice that anything was amiss about her. _

_But try as he might, he simply couldn't shake the feeling that she was hiding some potentially important secret. Heh, he sure was one to talk...he's got an immortal goddess sealed within his gut. In any case, his worries over the matter as pertaining to Diao Chan were apparently proven here; she and Wang Yun were planning something that involved Dong Zhuo in some way or another. Noting the secrecy that the two shared over it, it looked to be no small matter. However, not wanting to jump the gun and potentially miss a valuable piece of information, the teen continued to wait as the conversation inside went on._

"_I see...And you are afraid that he may unravel our plans in some way?" Wang asked in response, his countenance serious. "Maybe...he's too much of an unknown factor right now to say for sure." she answered, unsure on the position of her newfound friend. "Then perhaps, we could sway him towards our side in the situation." the minister suggested, garnering a gasp of surprise from his daughter. "What? But he...shouldn't have to become involved in this affair..." she said solemnly, subconsciously regressing into her previous thoughts on the young teen._

"_Oh? Do I sense a hint of fear for his well-being coming from you, my daughter?" Wang inquired, a knowing smirk just barely showing on his visage. Diao's face flushed slightly at the question, confirming Wang's thoughts and assuaging his fears on the subject. "Ren is...kind, caring, and honest...He would never agree to such subterfuge as this." she responded despondently, her facial expression falling a bit. "One never truly knows...You say that his usual demeanor belies a hidden intelligence beyond his years, correct?" Wang asked; at Diao's nod, he continued. "Then he may not be as adverse to the plan as one may think. I know that he is fully aware of Dong Zhuo's tyranny. The rumors and tales that flow around the areas of Luo Yang know no bounds." he said, assured in the validity of the statement._

_It certainly couldn't be refuted; talk of Dong Zhuo's various doings were in no short supply, especially within the walls of the imperial city. Still listening outside, Ren couldn't deny that he had indeed heard more than his share of the news concerning the ruler, almost all of it being everything but pleasant._

"_As a leader and minister, I know that he can be convinced to join our cause and that he could potentially become a valuable asset. You have already informed me that he has the ability to wield some strange, possibly otherworldly power, correct?" Wang asked, Diao nodding in confirmation._

((flashback within flashback))

_It was during a usual day that she had first borne witness to it; Ren was on the outskirts training as usual. She was planning to meet up with him during his daily rounds as she usually did; she had come to enjoy the pleasant conversations that she shared with him. He was a good listener, always stopping whatever he was doing in order to spend time with her. He was also a surprising intellectual, generally responding to her inquiries without the expected naivety of the standard 13-year-old male teen, even using the occasional witty quirk that caught her off guard nearly every time the occurrence happened._

_Of course, her more playful side was brought out whenever the fox kit decided to pay the two a visit, almost always making its appearance by mock-pouncing on some part of Ren's body, although the vixen(as the two humans did discover that the fox was a she) seemed to enjoy landing on some portion of Ren's upper body, as the white-haired teen always left it bare during his physical workouts; not that Diao really minded, but she'd never inform the young male of such a thought._

_Anyways, she was making her usual tangent towards his area during her rounds, but arriving at the field, she immediately noticed that Ren was speaking to seemingly no one; even the fox wasn't there at that point. Although she found the phenomenon strange, she reserved her judgment on the situation until she knew more about what was going on._

_And what a choice it turned out to be._

_Breaking herself from her inner thoughts, Diao refocused on Ren and saw that he had laid down his spear onto the ground. He now stood steadfast, his arms hanging straight down at his sides with his hands clenching into fists. With his body turned to her position, she could see that his visage was gradually changing into one of intense anger; his teeth were gritted, and his eyes were set in a fury that further made itself known by his body starting to tremble and shake, a repressed growl suddenly beginning to emanate from his throat in response to his rapidly rising emotion._

_As the spectacle continued, it began to look more and more like **something** was attempting to force its way from the teen's body as he struggled to keep it under control, and just as things looked to top out..._

"_**!"** A strangled yell violently arose from his being, coinciding with the eruption of a shining white light from his body that shielded his entire visage within moments. Diao Chan, expecting some kind of explosive force, quickly threw her arms in front of her face in order to protect herself from the incoming burst she was sure would at least blow her off her feet._

_A short period of time ticked by..._

_Noting that she hadn't felt the sensation of falling or flying through the air, Diao slowly lowered her arms as she peeked out at the clearing. What she saw would forever be burned into her memory._

_The young teen stood still as a statue, face set in a stonewall of seriousness. The cosmetic changes to his appearance were quite apparent; his hair had shifted from its normal silvery-white to a crystalline-blue with a light sheen of silver appearing providing a gloss to the mane along its edges. Daring to glance at his body, Diao saw that it had grown slightly more muscular and defined, shifting it into one that would normally be attributed to an extremely fit 16-year-old._

_His eyes had become a brilliant sky-blue, and they looked to reflect his changed countenance; from one of furious rage to that of an eerie, utter calm. The fact was only reinforced by the light, yet mildly chilly breeze that seemed to emanate from his own body._

_Only seconds ticked by, but they seemed ages to the young songstress as she could only stare at her friend's transformed state, awestruck and lightly gaping. What was this strange power? How did he have it? And why did the sight and feel of it make her so...excited?_

_As if planning to give an answer to her silent questionings, the now crystal-haired teen finally showed a sign of movement, the closing of his eyes as if mentally preparing something. With bated breath, Diao waited for his next course of action._

_What came was...unexpected, to say the least. Diao was shocked at the next turn of events, as the young male suddenly collapsed onto the ground for seemingly no apparent reason; the wind, along with his body and appearance reverted back to normal in such a quick flash that she could've sworn she'd heard an audible 'snap' just as they disappeared._

"_Ren!" she cried out as she rushed over towards his prone form._

((inner flashback end))

"_I am not fully sure on just __**what **__it may have been...I do know that it had some affinity towards the element of ice." she said, reporting what she had gleaned from the few seconds of exposure to it. Wang nodding, having been given such information before. _

_Outside, Ren was completely shocked and even slightly fearful at being discovered while using Mei's power. 'T-They know?' he thought inwardly with no small amount of apprehension. 'And now, Master Wang Yun may want to use that power for his own purposes...' he continued, his face falling at the thought of being used in such a way._

"_You should wait a bit longer before passing judgment, young one. You have known Lord Wang Yun long enough to realize that such actions would most likely have a noble motive behind them. Why would he have rescued you and housed you for nearly an entire year, only to turn around and use you as a mere pawn in some evil scheme? Remember what I taught you...always look beneath the surface." Mei admonished, making sure that her jailor wouldn't take this matter at face value._

_Under most circumstances, Mei wouldn't be so quick to place such faith in others, especially where the safety and well-being of Ren was concerned, but Wang Yun has had almost a full year to prove himself worthy of such trust, and he has indeed done so. Throughout all of the teen's encounters with him, she had never sensed any ill will coming from him at all, hidden or otherwise. She would allow herself to see what kind of plan he wished to involve him in._

_Having never been steered wrong by his tenant's counsel before, the white-haired teen relented and continued to listen._

"_However...as a father, I abhor the very thought of using a child in such a manner...I already dread what you must endure, my dear daughter; I silently curse myself every day when I think of it..." he remarked solemnly, his visage wavering into a veil of depression. "It is not your fault, Father. My agreement to this plan was by my own will. Don't ever believe that you forced my involvement." Diao replied softly._

_Still outside, Ren's mind had become a veritable tornado of thought at everything he had heard. 'All __this...what should I do, Lin?' the teen asked, no idea on what to do in this situation as of yet. "That is something you must figure out for yourself, Ren. Only you alone can dictate a course of action in such a situation as this." the ice goddess responded, slating out the choice that lie before him._

_Regressing on the matter, Ren thought of the time he had spent with Wang Yun and Diao Chan; of Wang's benevolence in taking him in and courtesy in his affairs with him, and of the various conversations he held with Diao Chan, getting to know her well and becoming great mutual friends with the young songstress. "And perhaps, something even more if your inner thoughts are anything to go by..." Mei chimed in, breaking Ren from his musings as his face began to lightly redden at the insinuation._

_In all honesty, he had indeed come to think of the Master's daughter in such a way recently. Although Mei joked of it only arising from his teenage years beginning to kick in, the two both knew that his relationship with her had the capacities of a true friendship, one that could easily develop given enough time._

_However, now was not the time to dwell on such things. Shaking that particular train of thought and by proxy the blushing spell he was going through, Ren made up his mind...he knew what he had to do. 'I...I wish to help them.' he said to Mei with no small amount of determination. "Then you know what must be done." she responded, prompting a mental nod from her jailor._

_Taking a deep, yet bated breath, Ren steeled himself for what he was about to do..._

((inside))

"_If it would please you, then I shall speak to Ren on this matter. Perhaps he would be willing to aid us." Diao said, although still mildly unsure on the necessity of involving the teen in such an affair._

_Wang Yun's response was cut off when the door to the bedchamber began to slide open, the visage of someone appearing in the doorway. The darkness of the night shielded the person's identity from their sense of sight._

_The room's two occupants were unsurprisingly shocked at this. Had they been found out?_

"_Diao Chan, now!" Wang ordered, not planning to waste time on dealing with any possible intruders. The young songstress complied instantly, practically sliding to her weapon, a chain-link whip, and using its extension properties to immediately lash out at the 'unwanted' visitor. The minister took the opportunity to acquire his own weapon, a short yet deadly sword that he always kept on his person in case such an event as this would transpire._

_Said visitor just barely had enough time to draw a thin katana blade from the waist, forced to block the attack through the draw itself. Seeing that the first strike had failed, Diao was about to rush the person with another assault, but was rebuffed when the person held out his arms in a placating motion, quickly stepping into the dim light of the room and revealing his identity. "R-Ren?" she called out, easily making out his trademark mane of silver-white hair._

"_Y-Yeah, it's me, Diao Chan." he answered, affirming the question as he turned for a moment to shut the door behind him. "I apologize for barging in like this; hearing your conversation beforehand, I felt that it wouldn't be very prudent of me to knock first. Your apparently planned reaction serves to prove that." he continued, turning back to the room's two other occupants, who relaxed at the full revelation of their unexpected guest. "It's quite alright, Ren. I may very much have done the same in your position; just how much did you 'happen' to overhear?" Wang asked, accenting the 'happen' as he knew that Ren's arrival at such a time was no accident. "From your concerns on Dong Zhuo's diminishing ignorance of your affairs onwards; and you're right, Diao Chan, I wouldn't be so adverse to aiding you two in your endeavors." the teen replied honestly, garnering light smiles from both Wang and Diao._

"_I am happy for your support; things should proceed very smoothly, then. Come sit, we have much to discuss." the minister requested, both teenagers complying and coming to a rest on their laurels. "Now, Ren, what we plan is the death of the tyrant, Dong Zhuo..." Wang began, explaining in great detail what said plan entailed._

_What none of the group sensed nor noticed during the renewed discussion was the presence of a new individual outside the chamber, among a couple of palace guards who had been stealthily knocked unconscious with a well-placed blow to the gut._

_'Heh...Looks like Lord Jia Xu was right about the rumors of a young kid getting close to Wang Yun and his daughter...and now, we can smoke out this little revolt they've got planned. Better not tell of Diao Chan's involvement in things...I'll let Lord Dong Zhuo have his fill with her before revealing her treachery...And once she's thrown out, she'll become a mere toy for the men before her execution.' the spy thought in an unrestrained mental moment of craze as he left the area to report to his superiors._

((two days later))

_Ren Jiang wholeheartedly agreed to lend his aid to the plan. However, his role would be very different from Diao Chan's._

_News traveled quickly throughout the imperial city of Luo Yang and its surrounds. Recently, there had been talk of Dong Zhuo preparing for a large banquet that was apparently in celebration of his rise to power after officially becoming the Protectorate of the new Han Emperor, Liu Xian. According to Wang Yun, Dong had also deigned to invite the prefect of neighboring city Chen Liu, Cao Cao, to the festivities. This would provide an opportunity._

_Cao Cao was a leader renowned as the "Hero of Chaos" due to his exploits during the battle against the Yellow Turbans. This fact caused many people on both sides to be against the idea of camaraderie; some of Dong's retainers believed that Cao may use such an affair to make a power play for the Emperor through an attack and possibly the elimination of Dong Zhuo, while others in Cao's forces believed that Dong was a threat to the land's general stability and needed to be removed._

_The rising tension between both forces was not lost on Wang Yun, who presented the task for Ren's involvement in the plan. The goal for the white-haired teen would be to fan the flames of dissension within the ranks of both rulers' armies, potentially prompting one group to lash out at the other and cause chaos within the walls of Dong's personal court. In the ensuing confusion, the possibly of Dong himself being caught in the crossfire becomes nearly a definite; this would ensure the chance for either Ren or Diao to locate the tyrant and take him down._

_However, several factors had to be taken into consideration before such a plan could be finalized._

_First was Jia Xu, a main strategist within Dong's employ. He was an extremely cunning individual; his analytical mind would enable him to smoke out any plots of subterfuge against his lord easily. He and his machinations had to be avoided at all costs._

_Second was the service of two particular warriors within Dong's army; Lu Bu and Zhang Liao. Lu Bu was known and feared as the mightiest warrior in all of China, his strength of arm posing an insurmountable obstacle should either Ren or Diao encounter him during the plan's progress. Zhang Liao could easily prove second only to him in battle, and his more intelligent mind would allow him to prematurely discover any secret plotting nearly as easily as Jia Xu. Needless to say, both of these men had to be evaded no matter what._

_Third was Cao Cao himself. Should he actually go through with an assassination attempt and get discovered before the plan could be implemented, he could face serious trouble. However, Ren replied by saying that he would drop everything and aid Cao Cao if he is found to be in grave danger._

_Despite the immense dangers, however, Ren was fully committed to the plan and pledged to give his support._

_Currently, he was taking a break from his daily self-appointed training, his mind racing as he replayed the parameters of the plan over and over again in his head, wanting to make sure that he doesn't overlook or forget a single detail. However, he couldn't shake a strange sense of foreboding that he was feeling in the back of his mind; maybe the magnitude of such a matter was starting to get to him._

_Feeling a slight tug at his senses, the white-haired teen shifted his head slightly and saw the approaching Diao Chan, who held a mildly somber look on her beautiful visage. Turning his fully-clothed body to face her, he adopted a consoling smile on his face as he met her advance halfway. "Is something wrong, Diao Chan? You seem a little down." he asked, genuinely concerned._

_He heard the young songstress mumble a quick response, but couldn't quite make out what it was. "I'm sorry?" he asked, wanting her to reiterate what she said. "Why..." she repeated a bit louder, enough for the other teen to hear. "Why what?" Ren asked, needing a little more specificity. "Why are you doing this...putting yourself at such risk?" she enumerated, causing Ren to sigh lightly before answering. "I should ask you the same thing, but I already know what your answer would be...you're performing a service at the behest of Master Wang Yun; trying to help and bring back the old ruling of the Han, right?" At Diao's slight nod, he continued. "As for me in particular...I honestly couldn't care much less about whether the Han is restored or not." he said a bit coldly, causing Diao to gasp in surprise._

"_How...How can you say that?" she asked, completely and utterly astonished at Ren's callous disregard at the notion of the Han's restoration. "Coming from personal experience, my encounters with the Han were none too pleasant. Frankly, I'd be willing to think that Zhang Jiao held a semblance of truth in that the dynasty had become corrupt over the years; the Ten Eunuchs would be a shining example of that." he continued, although slightly disgusted at his begrudging agreement with the long-dead wizard. "However," he started again, cutting off Diao's attempt at a response._

"_I know that Dong Zhuo would not be a highly welcomed replacement, should what's left of the Han fall to pieces. Frankly, he'd just make things even worse than they are now. I'm doing this because I wish to help, and at least try to fix what's happened to this crazy world we live in. If I go down doing that, then hopefully I'll die knowing that I made a difference." he declared with finality, shocking Diao Chan at his obviously well-thought out response to her simple, yet broad questioning._

"_Why...would you go so far as to risk your own life for us...for me?" she asked somberly, averting her eyes from him as she spoke the last part in a whisper that she didn't realize Ren was able to overhear. "Because I care about you...both of you." he answered as he lightly cupped her chin, bringing her gaze back to meet his own. A tint of pink donned Diao's cheeks as Ren smiled almost lovingly at her, their faces only about a meter apart._

"_Master Wang Yun gave me a home when I had little more than the clothes on my back; you gave me companionship in a territory that was completely unknown to me. I will forever be indebted to you both for that." he continued, his lighthearted smile never waning. "I...I feel that I owe much to you as well. You listened to me when my emotions ran high...You protected me, not as a favor to Father, but because of your own care over me...a little girl who cast herself into the depths of a darkened world..." she responded, her tone becoming despondent towards the end._

_Ren only lightly sighed, his smile wavering ever so slightly at the familiar cryptic speech from the young songstress. "While that may be true, what you may not realize is that you yourself will become the light in that darkness...a light I would easily give my own life to protect." he declared wholeheartedly, causing Diao's eyes to widen at such a vow._

_She had never truly thought of herself as such...she quickly thought back to something that her father had said to her. "Although the hand of darkness may enshroud us all, there will always be a light within that can deliver unto us salvation from the evil storm."_

_She knew that he was relating to the situation that they now faced, but it had never truly occurred to her that **she **would be the light in the darkness that was the rule of Dong Zhuo by fulfilling her role in the plan they had concocted. Her eyes began to water as the full magnitude of the realization came to her, and just who had informed her of such a notion being true._

_Ren Jiang...her friend, her new comrade-in-arms, her protector...At that point, she knew that she had grown to care deeply for him..._

_...and she absolutely **had **to let him know that._

"_Ren, I...I..." she started as her upper body began to arch towards him, little by little. "I...I truly believe that I..." she kept starting and stopping, unable to bring herself to say what she really wished to say. "It's okay..." Ren responded, his body imitating hers as the distance between them closed more and more with each excruciating moment. "You don't have to force yourself to say it. This is...all that's...necessary..." he continued, his voice trailing away as the space between their faces closed to mere inches, the teens' eyes becoming half-lidded as they gazed lovingly at each other._

_Unbeknownst to them, however, the wheels of fate were again turning in a new direction..._

_...one that would be much less fortunate than before..._

Notes

Finally! Done! (deep breath) Whoo! This is my longest chapter yet, over 5600 words! Sorry about the long wait...this one took me a week to write thanks to school and my friends & family making visits last weekend.

Next chapter, the memories of the past between Ren, Wang, and Diao finally come to an end. What does fate have in store? Will Diao and Ren kiss? Find out next time, on Chaos Reigns!

KnightMan1890, signing off! See ya!

Happy Halloween!


	20. Starting Anew

Hey there, readers. KnightMan1890 is back with the next chapter of Chaos Reigns: RNH. I've finally adjusted to school, and I'm now able to find time to type at least a page or two every day before getting home. Of course, my comfort with the mildly rigorous schedule will come to a crashing halt when I get yet another break in 3 weeks. This time, it's only a week, but it's for _Thanksgiving_. (sigh) Whatever, time off is time off.

Anyways, last time, we saw how the relationship between Ren Jiang and Diao Chan developed, and we get another look into Ren's life during the six-year hiatus after the Yellow Turban Rebellion. Now, the look into that period comes to an end; find out what happens...

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my original characters.

"speech"

_'thinking' _

"_inner speech"_

"**rage speech"**

(author notes & comments)

((scene change))

_flashback_

_**narration**_

Review Responses:

_Aryk Von Straln - **Yeah, this chapter was getting a bit long(you see how much time it took me to type it). I like my updates somewhat short for better comprehension as I proofread them. The flashback will end next chapter. And no, I won't go the usual cliche route of someone disturbing them just when they're about to kiss; it'd be too easy for readers to see coming. Yes, Jia Xu. In fact, the only reason he's coming in so early on is because one of his legendary battles in DW7 has him serving under Dong Zhuo. I figured, why not? He's a pretty cool guy(besides killing Dian Wei), and he'd provide an interesting obstacle towards the plan between Ren, Wang, and Diao. The underline thing isn't entirely my fault. I had personally set the underlining to be across basically the entire chapter, but the site always botches the effort, sometimes placing them and sometimes not. That aside, I do see where you're coming from, and I'll be sure to stop the underlining thing outside of narration; as far as long flashbacks are concerned. I might reset the earlier chapters for underlining, since this problem seems to happen a lot. Thanks for informing me about that! (and for that little please on the end :)**_

_Awesome PJOHarry - **They didn't know that he was spying on them at that point. She was just going on her experiences with him. Yes, sappy love scene; won't last for long, though... Ah, that. Well, Ren was trying for something like a 'perfect possession'. Notice that usually when he unleashes Mei's power, he goes berserk unless the power is taken in a small dose. What he was trying to pull off was drawing on a large amount of power while still retaining full control over himself and his emotions. As you can see, it worked, but not for very long. He wasn't quite ready for that yet. Yes, another cliffhanger. Happy Halloween...MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!**_

(Last time, on Chaos Reigns...)

"_Ren, I...I..." she started as her upper body began to arch towards him, little by little. "I...I truly believe that I..." she kept starting and stopping, unable to bring herself to say what she really wished to say. "It's okay..." Ren responded, his body imitating hers as the distance between them closed more and more with each excruciating moment. "You don't have to force yourself to say it. This is...all that's...necessary..." he continued, his voice trailing away as the space between their faces closed to mere inches, the teens' eyes becoming half-lidded as they gazed lovingly at each other._

_Unbeknownst to them, however, the wheels of fate were again turning in a new direction..._

_...one that would be much less fortunate than before..._

(And now...)

_**Ah, young love...a wonderful beauty, is it not?**_

_**However, this rapidly budding relationship will soon meet it's first unfortunate event...one that will truly pull at the heartstrings of Ren Jiang and Diao Chan.**_

_**Let us have a look...**_

((continued flashback; castle of Wang Yun - outskirts))

_So close..._

_The two were so close, each lingering moment was agonizing as the teens readied to make this leap. Finally, after seemingly a staggering amount of time..._

_The two sets of lips captured each other in a loving kiss._

_Diao Chan immediately felt a jolting sensation ravage the entirety of her body as the contact was established. The feeling excited her, the rippling traveling back and forth, up and down her body. She practically melted into Ren's arms as he embraced her tightly, their kiss deepening into passionate levels and the feel of Ren's surprisingly soft lips against hers coursed through her being with reckless abandon. Her eyes closed as she allowed herself to fully take in the pleasant experience, blocking out all other worldly things but her and the young **man **here with her._

_On the other end, Ren felt an unprecedented heat travel through his body at the contact. It was unbelievable...he had never expected such a feeling to come from so simple an action. Having an ice-empowered goddess sealed within him, he had grown highly accustomed to cold temperatures to the point where he actually felt a very slight discomfort when in close proximity to sources of heat. But, this heat was truly welcomed by his being as he pulled Diao into an embrace, reveling in the feel of her warm, lithe body pressed against his. He as well allowed the experience to overtake him, keeping all thoughts of fighting or plans out of his mind as he focused only on the young **woman **here with him._

_Mei Lin wisely remained silent as all this happened, only donning a light smile on her visage as her container experienced the joyous emotion known as love._

_Only a minute ticked by, but it was perceived as an eternity for the two teens. They both instinctively knew that their mutual feelings for each other were real, that something had truly blossomed between them. The very moment their lips touched, it felt as though a part of them had become whole._

_Eventually, the need for air became too great as the two reluctantly separated. Their heavy breaths were nearly pants as they reconnected to their other worldly senses, gazing at each other lovingly with half-lidded eyes._

"_Wow..." Ren bluntly stated as he finally managed to catch a portion of his breath back. "T-That was...amazing..." Diao responded back, her mind also still recovering from her state of euphoria. A short period of silence passed, the two merely staying silent in each others' arms for a while. "So...do you think that we should inform Master Wang Yun about...us?" Ren asked, the barest hint of nervousness showing in his tone. "I wouldn't be surprised if Father is already aware..." Diao answered, her light amusement not lost on the other. "To be honest, I'm quite content to simply be in your arms for a while longer..." she continued, a wistful smile on her visage._

"_So am I...Well then, maybe this should do..." he started mysteriously as a knowing smirk flitted across his face for a scant moment. Bending slightly at the waist, he suddenly braced himself and hoisted Diao into a bridal carry, the young songstress letting out a small squeal at the unexpected action. "R-Ren! What are you..." she started, causing the male teen chuckle a bit in mirth. "Don't be so embarrassed, Chan. This way, you won't have to worry about letting me go too soon." he said, enjoying the small heat rising on her face afterwards. _

"_True...but then again, after that kiss, **forever** would be too soon..." Diao responded as she consciously snuggled into his warmth. She again found herself surprised when Ren raised his arms and gave her another kiss on the lips. Although this one was more chaste and playful, it hadn't lost a single semblance of the emotion meant to be behind such an action._

_Diao giggled a bit as they separated, more out of happiness and content than anything. "I could get used to that." she stated, her arms wrapped around his shoulders as he began walking back towards the castle with her still in his carry. "Hehe, same here." he replied, looking down at her with that lovable smirk still planted on his face._

_This was perfect...the plan was set and proceeding without a hitch, and he was spending quality time with the one he knew he loved. It couldn't have gotten any better...oh wait, the fox._

_Just as he thought that, he felt an extra weight plant itself on his shoulders. Shifting his head to look though not needing to, he saw the that the little vixen had shown up again and was staring at the two humans. "Oh, hi there, Xiu. Haven't seen you in a while." Ren said, silently wishing that he could pet the kit for the cute, curious expression that she had donned on her face. Diao Chan took care of that, though, when she gently removed the fox from his shoulders and shifted her into her body, wafting her hands over the vixen's fur as she snuggled into the two teens' combined warmth._

_Okay, **now **things couldn't have gotten any better...and they sure as hell didn't._

_**BOOM!**_

_The sound of a sudden, resounding explosion rung out from the distance, making the three jump slightly in shock. Setting Diao Chan and the fox on ground level, Ren's eyes widened in shock as he almost instantly discovered the location of the blast._

_Although feeling a bit of disappointment at the dissipation of the comfortable warmth generated by Ren, she as well couldn't keep the horror from her face when followed his line of sight._

_They could see a large plume of smoke rising towards the sky, and its origin seemed to be coming from...the castle!_

"_Father!/Master!" the two teens yelled simultaneously as they broke into a rapid sprint, their destination being Wang Yun's castle._

_The vixen, now left behind in the teens' haste, only stared in the direction that they had rushed off in, the change in the two's emotions not lost on the perceptive fox._

((main castle))

_Flames were **everywhere**. Screams of terror and death saturated the air nearly as much as the orange and red glow from the fire._

_The people were fleeing in all directions, although some were unfortunate enough to be caught and slaughtered by the attackers, who seemed nearly infinite in their number as the civilians' fear of death began to overwhelm and consume their rationality._

_In the sheer suddenness and rapidity of the assault, only few were able to glean the identities of who the attackers were. These 'lucky' few were soundly silenced before any word could get to potential survivors...these guys apparently hadn't planned to show any kind of mercy. _

_This is the scene that the two teens arrived on, their visages rapidly degenerating into more and more horror as they looked around, seeing nothing but flames and scattered dead bodies. "Where's Father?" Diao asked, her tone holding no small amount of desperation. "I-I don't know! Maybe he's still inside the castle!" Ren answered, having to yell over the pandemonium within the area. He was caught off guard when Diao suddenly rushed into said castle, disregarding the fact it was consumed in fire as well. "Chan, stop! It could come down any minute!" Seeing that trying to stop her was futile, he sped after her, intent on making sure that she stayed safe._

_Along the short way, Ren couldn't help but feel a terrifying sense of deja vu as this experience made him think of the time when the Yellow Turban bandits raided his village. 'And if this turns out anything like that time...' he let the thought hang within his mind as the ramifications on if such a thing should come to pass fueled his dash onward._

((inside))

"_Father! Father, where are you?" Diao Chan yelled as she searched wantonly for her adoptive parent. Having searched seemingly every inch of the edifice, she reached the inner chambers, finally managing to discover his whereabouts..._

_...just as he was stabbed in the chest by one of the attackers!_

"_FATHER!" she screamed as she surged forth with speed that she never knew she had, swiftly drawing forth her chain-linked whip and eliminating the assassin with a powerful slash across the neck. The man fell to the ground, dead before he even hit the floor._

_Not sparing a glance at him, Diao immediately went to her father's side just as he collapsed to the ground. She knelt by his downed body, tears already beginning to fall at the sight of Wang Yun's rapidly depleting health. She didn't want to believe it, but it was true...from the look of the bloody wound on his chest, the attacker's weapon looked to have stabbed directly into one of his lungs. With blood quickly filling the area where his life-giving air was supposed to inhabit, she knew that he wouldn't last the hour. It was already a testament to his willpower that he didn't die almost instantly from the mortal wound. With the assault on the castle and its surrounds, medical aid wouldn't possibly be able to arrive in time._

_Hearing a small groan from his prone form, the young songstress snapped to attention, cradling his upper body in her arms, unable to bring herself to halt the salty water coming from her eyes. "Y-You must flee, Diao Chan..." he staggered out, his voice cracked and low from the lack of oxygen. "You furthered the plan as best you could...Dong Zhuo shall meet his end someday, if only by the dictates of time itself. You must find Ren and go." he continued, garnering a shake of the head from his daughter. "No, I can't leave you here, Father! We'll...we'll find a way to save you!" she said, halfway in hysterics over the severity of the situation._

"_Diao Chan! Where are you?" Ren's voice called out from some other location within the castle. "Here! The inner chamber!" she answered back, hearing the familiar shuffling of motion in response. It was only a few seconds later that the white-haired teen burst into the room, falling to his knees at the sight of the dying Wang Yun being held by his newfound love. "What the...what happened?" he questioned, horrified at seeing Wang in such a state. "An...an assassin..." Diao answered, not needing to explain any further._

"_Is...Is there anything that can be done?" Ren began, but any further speech from him was cut off by Wang. "No...my life will come to an end here...You two must continue on, and leave this place." the minister answered solemnly, his voice degenerating into a mere whisper towards the end of the request._

"_No...Damn it all!" Ren cursed, smashing a clenched fist against the floor. He couldn't believe this...Just as his own mother, father, and little sister had done...so too, would Wang Yun be forced to perish in flames. It was all he could do to stop himself from exploding into a frozen rampage. "P-Please hear me...both of you." Wang started, catching the full attention of the two teens. "Aid one another...protect each other...and save this land from darkness..." he said, his eyes closing._

_These were to be his last words as his aged body gave out and fell limp, his breath dwindling down to nothing as he finally passed on._

_This proved to be too much for Diao Chan, as she burst into tears and latched onto Ren for support, holding on so tightly, it was as if she feared he too would disappear from her life if she were to even begin to let go. The white-haired teen eagerly returned the embrace, holding her trembling body just as tightly. Angry tears fell from his own eyes as he gritted his teeth in order to physically suppress the innate rage that he could feel bubbling just beneath the surface. _

_The two stayed that way for a few minutes, Diao's sobs lessening in their intensity little by little until they mitigated into slight whimpers of sadness and pain. With the castle still ablaze and beginning to crumble, Ren knew that it was time to leave. "Come on, we can't stay here any longer. We have to go, now." Ren said with a solid even tone as he raised himself from his kneeling position, Diao Chan doing the same by proxy with him. Only nodding in response, the young songstress took one last solemn look at the fallen minister. "Goodbye, Father...I'll miss you terribly." she said, a single final tear running down her face as she followed Ren in a expedient escape from the doomed castle._

((outside))

_The two watched silently at the edifice as it began collapsing into burning, destroyed pieces. "So...what do you plan on doing now, Chan?" Ren asked, wondering what her next course of action will be after this unfortunate development. "She'll be coming back to lord Dong Zhuo now, ya brat." a deep, gruff voice answered, causing the two teens to turn._

_They immediately beheld the sight of no less than 30 soldiers from Dong Zhuo's forces, each being a male of slight to moderate age and carrying a bladed weapon in hand. Several of them had mild amounts of blood covering portions of their bodies, betraying their identities as those who propagated the assault on this area, not that the teens didn't already realize that._

"_Well, what do ya know? The daughter of Wang Yun was still here all this time, and she's got a little bodyguard, too. Heh, get out of the way, kid, and give that girl to us. We'll take her back to our lord and keep it to ourselves how she was involved in this little rebellion you all were planning...at least, as long as she makes it worth our while." the lead man stated, a disgustingly lecherous smirk on his face. _

_Hearing this, Ren's visage quickly shifted into a snarl of anger as he snapped into a ready stance, his spear already out at the ready as he stood firm, ready to defend both himself and Diao Chan at a moment's notice. The young songstress wasn't left out, of course; she readied her own weapon and prepared for a fight as well. The men laughed condescendingly at the two teens' actions._

"_So, you won't come quietly, huh? Alright boys, looks like we'll have to take them away by force. Surround them, now!" he barked out, the other man immediately complying and doing as ordered. Now encircled and back-to-back with Diao Chan, Ren's adrenaline ran high at the prospect of this fight._

((middle of fight; a few minutes later))

_The two teens had no reason to worry over their isolated battle situation._

_Thinking back to a fonder time, Diao reminisced on when Ren spontaneously asked for a light spar one day, She was surprised, but she delighted in the notion that the white-haired teen didn't see her as so fragile that she couldn't hold her own in a fight. After he had rescued her from the wild bear that had surprised her in a sudden assault, pinning her down at its mercy, she was almost expecting him to do so._

_The first exchange had ended with both of them a bit winded and a light scratch across her arm. Ren stopped for a quick second to ask if she was okay; she nodded in the affirmative, and the two were back at it within seconds._

_All in all, the sparring had become a bi, sometimes tri-weekly ritual that helped to hone their skills through fighting an actual opponent. The two made quite a pair in battle; Diao's grace, fluidity, and rapidity of her attacks were offset by Ren's strength of arm and adaptive style of combat. He never seemed to stick to one particular style, always changing strategies seemingly on the fly in response to his disadvantage against her in speed. He was able to switch instantaneously between offense and defense, the range of his spear offering a veritable plethora of choices in battle, and he took that to full use._

_Still, the wide differences in each others' parameters and skillset couldn't be overcome, with the win-loss ratio being perfectly even between both of them; 42 to 42._

_Shaking herself from the past, the young songstress's mind went back to the fight at hand, if it could even be called that._

_Frankly, it wasn't so much a fight than it was Ren and herself decimating the enemies. These soldiers obviously hadn't prepared themselves to face any skillful opposition towards their blazing raid, or maybe they just didn't see the two teens as a serious threat in an all-out brawl, especially with numbers overwhelmingly on their side. Either way you take it, know that they had made a serious miscalculation._

_Ten of the enemies were down within the first minute, as they had rushed in with reckless abandon and sorely underestimated the range of Diao's chain-linked whip. They found their charge met by a 360 degree spin by Chan, her weapon extending to its maximum length as Ren swiftly ducked under the attack._

_10 down, 20 to go._

_5 more were quickly dispatched when they rushed in as well, apparently having not learned from their allies' previous mistake. This time, it was Ren who took them down through a repeat of Diao's attack by performing one of his own, spinning his spear in a 360 motion as Diao casually backflipped in place to evade the blow._

_15 left._

_This time, the two teens went on the attack, both of them rushing towards opposite ends of the encirclement on an unspoken signal. Ren was the first to strike, pushing his weapon forward in a stabbing motion that forced two of the men to separate, creating an opening in the formation. The white-haired teen used the opportunity to hoist himself up on his spear and deliver a front split-kick, sending the two sprawling against the ground in a heap._

_Not stopping there, Ren proceeded to drop down from his ascended height as he immediately shifted into a duck, bending backwards and just narrowly avoiding a sword swipe to his face. Countering quickly, the teen stabbed the attacker's exposed chest area before roughly ripping out the blade and carrying the blow towards another man coming in on his right. The force of the hit from the solid weapon broke the second man's collarbone, effectively putting him out of the fight just as well as the stab victim, both men collapsing onto the unforgiving earth._

_11 left._

_Diao's assault began quickly after Ren's, dropping into a leg-slide against the ground, spinning her weapon again as she did so and catching 3 men in a row across the neck, each man able to do nothing but clutch their respective gashes for a second before falling to the ground. Diao rose back to her normal height with a twirling flourish just as another adversary went for a downward stab. She soundly smashed him overhead with her blade, sending him into a faceplant on the cold, hard ground. He didn't get back up._

_7 left. Oh, wait..._

_Catching a dual-bladed strike by holding his spear against his back, Ren realized that the two men he'd kicked at first had been counted out too early, a fact swiftly rectified when he broke into a quick spin that knocked the two men staggering backwards a bit with the centrifugal force applied to their metal weaponry. Taking the chance, Ren smashed one man directly in the throat with the blunt end of his spear, then flipped the blow into a horizontal slash that caught both men across their chests and sent them into the dirt._

_Breaking into a run, Ren caught two men in a single, powerful lancing stab that resulted in their bodies being stuck on the spear like a giant human barbeque. He casually held his weapon downwards and let their bodies slide off the now-bloodied spear as their comrades merely stood dumbstruck at the display of ruthlessness by the teen._

_5 left. _

_Diao surged forth as well, launching into a chain of graceful flips as 4 of the remaining enemies began to attack her. Utilizing her innate dexterity, she easily dodged all of the sloppy blows as she retaliated with her own assault, downing the advancing soldiers one-by-one until all had fallen onto the ground like the others before them, and were either writhing in pain or not moving at all._

_1 left._

_The cowardly leader of the group had merely stood by and watched as his men fought, figuring that they could take care of a couple of brats like these two. But now, here he was, alone against those same two 'brats' who had taken out his entire group without breaking so much as a sweat._

_He was sorely regretting having told the main raiding unit to head back._

"_Just...j-just w-w-what are y-you two?" he stuttered out, just barely keeping himself from falling to the ground in fear. "Us? Why, we're just a couple of teens...whom you should **not **have crossed." Ren answered coldly, he and Diao Chan advancing towards the man at an agonizingly slow pace as the two derived a bit a pleasure at seeing the formerly smug man squirming in fright. "Yes...think on that during your time in the afterlife." Diao continued in an equally frigid manner._

_Before the man knew it, his sword had been grasped by the young songstress's weapon and yanked from his hands. The last thing he saw was Ren attacking, his spear coming downwards in a vertical motion...only darkness came afterwards._

_Seeing that the last of the enemies were defeated, the two teens relaxed a bit as they re-holstered their respective weapons. "As I was saying before we were so rudely interrupted, what is it that you plan on doing now?" Ren inquired, reiterating his previous question. "I shall continue my father's dream of restoring the Han Imperial Dynasty." Diao answered with conviction. "Heh. Very well. I've already stated my thoughts on the Han, but you can count on my help for getting rid of Dong Zhuo. I promise, he'll pay for all that he's done." he responded wholeheartedly, a light smile on his face despite the seriousness of the statement. "Thank you...I truly appreciate it." she said, returning the smile at his promise. "No problem at all." he said as the two turned to face the now descending sun as it seared the skies in an orange glow. The fires had mainly died down now, leaving only the dying embers of the destroyed landscape._

_From the depths of darkness, a new light will emerge and bath the land in its purifying glow..._

_...guiding the world into a better future._

Notes

And with that, the final chapter of this lengthy flashback is finished. Next chapter will finally wrap up the Dong Zhuo saga and move on to the next battle in Xu Province.

Hope you liked the fight scene that I put in here. Please note that generic rank-and-file soldiers will be extremely weak compared to the major characters, as they were in the series. The common enemies will improve as time goes on, but don't expect them to leave any lasting impressions on the true warriors for a while yet.

Anyways, tune in next time for the next installment of Chaos Reigns! This is KnightMan1890, signing off! See ya later!


	21. Chaos Reigns

Waz up? KnightMan1890 is here yet again with another installment of Chaos Reigns: RNH. Sorry it's been so long; I recently bought the new Dynasty Warriors 7: Xtreme Legends, and that's occupied all my free time for the past few weeks.

Also, now that I've reached an interlude chapter, I usually go to YouTube in order to get the storyline from the game's perspective and then meld it into what's happening with my original characters. With school _and _a new game...hehe, yeah.

Anyways, last time, the flashback into Ren's time spent with Wang Yun and Diao Chan finally came to an end. Now begins the interlude bridging the Dong Zhuo saga into the next battle, Xu Province. After this next major battle, only Xia Pi and Guan Du will remain.

I only have 9 more days of school until I get another two weeks off for winter break; Christmas and New Year's! Keep watching for more updates!

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my original characters.

"speech"

_'thinking' _

"_inner speech"_

_'inner thoughts'_

"**rage speech"**

(author notes & comments)

((scene change))

_flashback_

_**narration**_

Review Responses:

**Awesome PJOHarry**_ – Glad you liked it; my original draft of this chapter actually skipped past the fight in a timeskip, but I figured that I could make something decent of it, so I put it in. I'd say it came out okay. Well, another reviewer named Aryk Von Straln warned me about the usual cliche route of someone interrupting just as two people are about to kiss, so I made sure to avoid that. Xiu will most likely become a pet for the two. Yeah, that line showed just how little stock Ren put into the enemy troops as the fight went on. They were little more than an annoyance at best. Only three battles left...next up, Xu Province!_

(Last time, on Chaos Reigns...)

_Seeing that the last of the enemies were defeated, the two teens relaxed a bit as they re-holstered their respective weapons. "As I was saying before we were so rudely interrupted, what is it that you plan on doing now?" Ren inquired, reiterating his previous question. "I shall continue my father's dream of restoring the Han Imperial Dynasty." Diao answered with conviction. "Heh. Very well. I've already stated my thoughts on the Han, but you can count on my help for getting rid of Dong Zhuo. I promise, he'll pay for all that he's done." he responded wholeheartedly, a light smile on his face despite the seriousness of the statement. "Thank you...I truly appreciate it." she said, returning the smile at his promise. "No problem at all." he said as the two turned to face the now descending sun as it seared the skies in an orange glow. The fires had mainly died down now, leaving only the dying embers of the destroyed landscape._

_From the depths of darkness, a new light will emerge and bath the land in its purifying glow..._

_...guiding the world into a better future._

(And now...)

_**The battle for Luo Yang has finally come to an end.**_

_**Now, a new path into the future has been carved for Ren Jiang and his allies. What new battles and challenges still await them and the other warriors of China...?**_

((Luo Yang; clearing))

Having finally returned their minds to the present from their long period of remembrance, Diao Chan and Ren Jiang found themselves sitting next to one another within the courtyard in the burnt Luo Yang.

"It's been a while since all that happened...how have things been going for you?" Ren asked, garnering a light smile from Diao Chan. "Well, I managed to convince Dong Zhuo that my involvement in the plot to assassinate him was forced, and matters have been continuing on as planned." she answered, getting a look of slight disbelief from Ren.

"And he went for that?" he asked, beginning to laugh as he received a light nod from Diao in affirmation. "Such a poor, deluded fool he is..." he continued, shaking his head at Dong's actions. "Indeed..." Diao responded, sighing a bit at the tyrant's folly.

"After Dong Zhuo is gone...what happens then?" Ren asked, his visage now one of seriousness. "I do not truly know...maybe that won't be enough. There are many ambitious warlords within the land, many of which were in the ranks of the forces who were allied against Dong Zhuo...Who's to say that they will not turn on each other?" Diao said, a hint of sadness in her tone.

"It's alright..." Ren started, bringing Diao into a one-armed embrace. "No matter what happens, I'll find a way to bring peace to this land, however far off such a goal may be." he continued with conviction. "The dream of a land of virtue is what my lord, Liu Bei, and his brothers envision as well." he finished, his assertions bringing a light smile to Diao's visage.

"Is your lord truly capable of such a task?" she asked, wanting to hear his thoughts on the matter. "I believe so." Ren answered wholeheartedly. "And if not, I'll toughen him up and make sure that he is cut out for the job." he continued with a hint of amusement, causing Diao to giggle lightly. "I'm sure you will." she answered, her tone now filled with mirth.

The two lovers merely sat there for a bit, each relying only on the other's body warmth to keep away the stifling cold of winter. But they rose to leave after a time, knowing that they still had duties to be done.

With a mildly tearful goodbye, they parted wordlessly with only a kiss from one another, both of them keeping the love that they shared embroiled deep within their hearts...

((afterwards))

_**Thanks to the bravery of Liu Bei's forces, Dong Zhuo was driven from the capital of Luo Yang.**_

_**Having a sudden change of heart on the matter of the next course of action, Cao Cao hastily led his armed forces in pursuit of Dong Zhuo, who had taken the emperor into his custody and was fleeing westward towards Chang An.**_

_**Unfortunately, he was unable to secure Emperor Xian from Dong Zhuo's clutches, despite receiving assistance from Liu Bei's forces not long after the pursuit began.**_

_**However, after escaping and relocating the capital to Chang An, Dong Zhuo soon found himself betrayed and murdered by his retainer, Lu Bu.**_

_**And finally, the gales of tyranny had been expelled from the capital's hallowed confines. However, the damage to the Imperial Court's authority had been done, and the land returned to the chaos of countless warlords vying for power.**_

_**But there was one man who was left behind in the pandemonium, cut off from the raging storm. It was Liu Bei, who, despite his deeds in the battle against Dong Zhuo, still had no land to call his own. And so, he sought the aid of an old friend, Gongsun Zan.**_

_**Although remaining in Gongsun's service for an extended period of time, he continued to fight on behalf of the common folk, and he could always count on the support of his sworn brothers, along with Ren Jiang and Jin Zang.**_

_**However, it seemed that no matter how much Liu Bei and his allies tried to aid those around themselves, the land as a whole simply could not be healed. But despite his doubts, Liu Bei would not give up on his desire to help the people.**_

_**Throughout the time since the battle against Dong Zhuo, Liu Bei and his forces have rapidly been gaining fame throughout the land for their heroic deeds in battle, including a heavy skirmish in the land of Bei Hai. There, they assisted the prefect, Kong Rong, against the combined force of a large gathering of Yellow Turban remnants and a small armed force led by none other than Lu Bu himself.**_

_**Guan Yu, for his powerful might and skill in battle, had become known as the "God of War".**_

_**Zhang Fei, for his massive strength of arm and deadly brute force, had become known as the "Warrior Worth Ten-Thousand". **_(I don't think Zhang Fei actually had a nickname, but I felt he deserved one, and I always found this as a description of him.)

_**Liu Bei had long been known as the "Hero of the People" for his virtuousness and willingness to aidothers at any given moment's notice.**_

_**One of Gongsun Zan's retainers, named Zhao Yun, was referred to as the "Dragon of Chang Shan" for his skill in battle and an almost supernatural drive to achieve victory and protect those who are his allies.**_

_**Ren Jiang had made a name for himself as well; he had become known as the "Rising Star" for his prowess in combat, a growing aptitude for tactics, and an unbelievably powerful drive to protect others from harm, all of which coincided with his young age in order to truly cement his mark on the land.**_

_**Throughout the years, he had sought guidance and training from his uncle, Liu Bei and his brothers, as well as his tenant, Mei Lin. Even Zhao Yun offered his services by occasionally sparring with the young man, the two hitting it off quite well and becoming great friends with one another.**_

_**It seemed that everyone had a different lesson to teach...**_

((multiple quick flashbacks))

(Guan Yu)

"_Believe in yourself, and trust that the spirit of the warrior shall guide you along the path to the attainment of glorious victory in battle."_

(Zhang Fei)

"_All that fancy strategy business is nothing but using certain ways to take down your enemies. In the end, it all comes down to brute force and whether or not you can beat them!"_

(Liu Bei)

"_Do not allow your emotion to become you. Instead, you should focus it and use that drive to defeat your enemies and protect the people."_

(Zhao Yun)

"_You must always strive to better yourself, for our enemies will only grow stronger and more numerous as time goes on. Concentrate on fulfilling your duty, and you shall find your path along with the answers that you seek."_

(Jin Zang)

"_You don't always have to go it alone, Ren. If you get into trouble, know that your allies will always be willing to help you. We're all here for ya, kid."_

(Mei Lin)

"_Although strength of arm is important, possessing a keen mind works to one's benefit as well, perhaps even more so. With both a powerful body and a refined intellect, there is no challenge that cannot be cleared."_

((end flashbacks))

_**Ren made sure to take all of his mentors' words to heart, and rounded out his battle skills in accordance with them. He now wields a pair of shortened twin spears, allowing for speed and dexterity, as well as power and devastating strikes.**_

_**It was during this time that a request for reinforcements came from Tao Qian of Xu Province.**_

_**And in response, Gongsun Zan dispatched Liu Bei, his sworn brothers, and Ren Jiang and his uncle, along with his own lieutenant, Zhao Yun.**_

_**Their foe was a man who was attempting to use the chaos in order to further his own ambitions.**_

_**And now, a new battle was set to begin...against the man known as the "Hero of Chaos", Cao Cao...**_

((abandoned village; outskirts of Xu Zhou Castle))

It is now the year 194; a total of 4 years have passed since the battle against Dong Zhuo.

We now find Ren; that much older, stronger, and wiser, walking through the desolate remains of a small town ravaged by Cao Cao's lightning advance.

Ren's outfit has changed little since before, besides that it was now a slightly lighter shade of green; the bulk of his wear still retained the white lightning designs as before. His body had about reached the peak of its definition, his upper body muscles clearly shown by his v-cut and sleeveless top.

His hair was back into its previous style, all of it standing straight up in neat spikes with a single bang hanging over each side of his face.

Although his eyes retained their cerulean-blue color, the countenance of his gaze had changed. His visage had become one of utter seriousness, thinly veiling the emotions that were being drawn up within him as he gazed at the scene of this annihilated village.

A frown and a dark glare marred his handsome face as he continued to look around, seeing the few remaining townspeople looking at their destroyed homes and fields. Having witnessed and experienced the horrors that the Yellow Turbans had wrought firsthand, it looked to the young man that Cao Cao's forces would generate a repeat of that squalor.

"My house! Now what am I supposed to do?" Ren heard one villager cry out. "M-my home...m-my family...they're...they're...!" another lamented as he broke down, pounding his fist against the ground in anger.

Ren's emotional control was severely strained by the scene, the memories of the destruction within his own home beginning to resurface. _'Mei...I don't know how much longer I can keep a lid on myself...the sadness and desolation here is so strong, it's nearly palpable!' _he inwardly raged, distraught at the situation. _"Please calm yourself as best you can. I am also angered at this callous disregard of life, but this is no time to lose your head. Remember what Liu Bei taught you." _the ice deity answered, her calming voice working to soothe the inner rage that Ren felt. _'Right...focus my emotions against the enemy. And Cao Cao will be getting plenty of that.' _he responded, a smirk beginning to play over his visage.

"_Please be careful out there, Ren. Cao Cao is as cunning as he is ruthless. He will do whatever he feels is necessary to turn the battle in his favor." _Mei warned, wanting to assure the safety of her jailor. _'Don't worry yourself so much about me, Mei. I won't die just yet, not until I've fulfilled my promises to everyone I care about, including you.' _Ren answered, directing a reassuring mental smile towards his tenant.

Unbeknownst to the white-haired young man, however, was that a light blush flitted across Mei's face at his light tone and heartfelt smile. _'Oh, Ren...you're always so caring towards others...But, would it be right for you to reciprocate...my true feelings towards you?'_ she inwardly reflected, a wistful smile on her visage.

Meanwhile, on the outside, Ren had found Guan Yu and Zhang Fei first, whose mental states mirrored Ren's own at the time. "Look at this place...the bodies are just piling up on each other!" Fei said, remarking on how so few people had _survived _the run-through. "Yes...It is as Lord Tao Qian said. Cao Cao's army is nearly invincible, and shows no mercy. He kills every last one of his enemies; that is the only way he knows how to fight a battle." Yu said, equally distraught at what the chaotic 'hero' had done. "This guy makes me sick! He's nothing like Brother. What about you, kid? What's your take on all this?" Fei asked, seeing that Ren had walked up to them.

"I think this is insanity. We can't let Cao Cao get away with this!" he responded, displaying more control but still being angry. "Don't you worry, we'll give Cao Cao what he deserves. Maybe then, we'll have our own land to call home!" Fei said, ready as ever to thrash the enemies standing in the way the land's peace.

"I sure wish I shared your optimism, Master Zhang Fei. Cao Cao won't be easily defeated." Ren started, reflecting on the situation at hand. "Tao Qian sent out the call for reinforcements over a week ago. Who knows what kind of trouble his forces are in now?" he continued, relaying the graveness of what they currently faced.

"All the more reason for us to march as soon as possible. Lord Tao Qian must be rescued swiftly." Yu remarked, the others nodding in affirmation. "Agreed. Where's Lord Liu Bei?" Ren asked, not having seen the young leader in a short time.

"I believe that he is speaking with Master Zhao Yun. We should go; the time to begin the march is now." Yu answered, the three beginning to move towards where Liu Bei and Zhao Yun were conversing.

Zhao Yun was a relatively young male, looking to be around the same age as Zhang Fei. His handsome appearance was accented by the bangs of his dark brown hair falling around his face, as well as the back of his hair being tied into a ponytail.

He wore layered green and silver armor with white cloth underneath. A blue scarf around his neck extended into a small dual cape behind him, and he also wore green knee-high armored boots along with a similarly colored sash around his waist that tied the upper and lower sections of his armor together through a black belt. He had silver metal gauntlets that shielded black gloves on both arms, and he also had a metal headband that held his hair bangs up. The only part of his body that was uncovered besides his head was the part of his right arm around and including the elbow.

Currently, he was conversing with Liu Bei on the matter of beginning the advance; it seemed that the march could be delayed no longer.

"Why must Cao Cao purport such chaos across the land? Does he not realize how the people suffer from his actions?" Liu Bei lamented, showing his sadness at these attacks against the common townspeople. "I believe that he is doing this as a show of his army's might. He wishes to set an example, and send a message to his enemies that he will do whatever it takes to realize his ambitions." Yun responded, trying to ascertain some sort of rhyme or reason to Cao Cao's actions.

"He wishes to seize the land for himself. That is where his ambition lies." Ren started as he, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei joined Liu Bei and Zhao Yun. "And what kind of land would that be, with no one left to rule over?" Fei responded, his anger at the situation nearly palpable. "Hmm...If he truly is so powerful, then we will have no choice but to eliminate him." Bei began, catching the attention of the others. "That is the message we shall send to Cao Cao in this battle!" he declared, nodding in affirmation. "Now, prepare to march! We must rescue Tao Qian, and drive Cao Cao from this land!" he ordered, the troops complying immediately and beginning their final preparations.

Gazing into the distance, Ren only had one thought on his mind...

_'Cao Cao...you'll pay for this! I will not allow your ambition to ruin this land!' _

Notes

Whew! I'm finally back, people! Jeez, after a month's absence, I think I need to get back into the swing of things. Proofreading this, I just don't feel like the quality of it stacks up to some of my other recent chapters.

Oh, well. I've got a homework-free weekend coming up, so I can at least make some decent headway into the next chapter before it's over.

Character Ages:  
>Ren Jiang: 19<br>Guan Yu: 32  
>Zhang Fei: 26<br>Liu Bei: 33  
>Zhao Yun: 26<p>

Before I forget, my new goal is to _finish _this story before the end of my upcoming winter break, which will be about a week after New Year's. Wish me luck! This is KnightMan1890, signing off!


	22. New Hero Rising

Hey there, people! This is KnightMan1890, here with the newest installment of Chaos Reigns: RNH. Unfortunately, it seems that I've made yet another time miscalculation. I have 3 more weeks of school instead of 2; my classmate informed me of this just today. Oh, well.

Anyways, last time, we finally reached the end of the Dong Zhuo saga and transitioned into the next battle over Xu Province between Liu Bei and Cao Cao. And now, that battle begins...

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my original characters.

"speech"

_'thinking' _

"_inner speech"_

_'inner thoughts'_

"**rage speech"**

(author notes & comments)

((scene change))

_flashback_

_**narration**_

Review Responses:  
><strong>Awesome PJOHarry<strong>_ – Glad you liked it. Yep, I'm finally back; hopefully, I can get the next chapter out of the way shortly. Oh yeah; Zhao Yun. I've thoroughly liked his character since day one, and his new Dragon Spear for DW7XL is just ridiculously awesome. And, Cao Cao may not find as much trouble as you may expect...or will he?_

(Last time, on Chaos Reigns...)

"He wishes to seize the land for himself. That is where his ambition lies." Ren started as he, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei joined Liu Bei and Zhao Yun. "And what kind of land would that be, with no one left to rule over?" Fei responded, his anger at the situation nearly palpable. "Hmm...If he truly is so powerful, then we will have no choice but to eliminate him." Bei began, catching the attention of the others. "That is the message we shall send to Cao Cao in this battle!" he declared, the others nodding in affirmation. "Now, prepare to march! We must rescue Tao Qian, and drive Cao Cao from this land!" he ordered, the troops complying immediately and beginning their final preparations.

Gazing into the distance, Ren only had one thought on his mind...

_'Cao Cao...you'll pay for this! I will not allow your ambition to ruin this land!' _

(And now...)

_**Even after the defeat and death of Dong Zhuo, the land still is not at peace.**_

_**With a new and potentially more powerful threat on the horizon, Ren Jiang and his allies must fight for the land of virtue that they so envision...**_

((Xu Province; outskirts of Xu Zhou Castle))

The preparations were complete, the troops were ready, and it was time for the battle to begin...now. With the village gates finally opened, Liu Bei's forces wasted no time in advancing.

"So, we have to take down Cao Cao? No problem at all!" Zhang Fei said, excited at the prospect of battle and assured of victory.

_'Hmm...I wonder where Uncle is?' _Ren inwardly questioned, not having seen Jin Zang within the camp. During his inner thoughts, however, an urgent message came from the front.

"My lords! Lord Tao Qian's main force is surrounded and in dire straits!" the messenger relayed, the tone of desperation not lost on either Liu Bei or his generals.

"Sounds like Tao Qian's in serious trouble. We have to rescue him, now!" Ren said, already moving to march towards the location of Xu Zhou Castle. "Indeed; head towards the castle, and hurry!" Liu Bei ordered, his forces complying and moving forward at an accelerated pace.

About halfway to the castle, however...

The army came across a mountain path off to the side, where the sounds of fighting echoed across the landscape. A practical sea of blue-wearing soldiers signified that a large amount of Cao Cao's troops were there.

"Has Lord Tao Qian been driven out of his castle already?" Ren asked incredulously, noting how far they still were from the castle. "It would seem that way. We must break this stranglehold quickly! Attack!" Bei ordered as their battle truly began.

The skirmish swiftly turned in the favor of Liu Bei's advancing forces. No important generals of Cao Cao's seemed to be here, and the troops that were present appeared to be completely unprepared for the sudden assault.

Scores upon scores of the apparent ambush unit fell to the blades of Liu Bei and his officers. The narrow mountain path had forced the blue-wearing soldiers to be tightly packed together, and that made them easy prey for the long-ranged weapons of the attacking generals.

Zhao Yun set the precedent by using his spear to launch himself into the air, only to come crashing down on the enemy with an overhead smashing blow from above.

Ren Jiang wasn't far behind; using one of his twin spears to block a troop's strike, he planted the other against the ground and used it to propel himself forward into an airborne spinning attack, downing more than a few soldiers and helping to keep pushing the enemy back.

Guan Yu was downing enemies left and right through long, horizontal swings with his crescent blade. Some troops tried to block the attacks, but they were easily swept aside and cut down by the hundred-pound weapon.

Zhang Fei found himself encircled by several soldiers, but he didn't let that stop him, as his dual-bladed pike easily enabled him to cover his own back, as well as dishing out damage on the front. Lancing his blade backwards, he stabbed one enemy and began to swing the pike around, slamming the now dead enemy's body into the other soldiers with devastating force.

Even Liu Bei himself was battling against the enemies with ease. Deftly avoiding a stab by a spear, he dashed forward, rapidly spinning himself around while holding his twin swords outwards, taking down several enemies.

It wasn't long before the enemy force was annihilated, and Liu Bei's forces advanced further into the mountain path to see just whom they had rescued.

Luckily, it was indeed Tao Qian they had saved, and their two forces now melded together, Cao Cao's troops having been expelled from this area. The aged ruler was accompanied by Jin Zang, who had apparently gone ahead of the main force.

"There you are, Uncle! I was wondering where you'd gone." Ren said, relived in seeing that his family member was safe "Thanks, Ren! Oh, sorry for worrying ya; I had gone forward on a scouting mission, and I got caught up in Lord Tao Qian's situation here." Jin responded.

"I thank you for rescuing me. Your arrival was most timely." Tao said, happy to have received reinforcements. "You are quite welcome, Lord Tao Qian. However, this battle isn't over yet. Allow us to escort you back to your castle." Liu Bei responded, the combined force beginning to head towards Xu Zhou Castle.

They strangely encountered little interference on the way there; although, the reason for that become clear once the castle was in sight. Blue and white banners hung over the castle walls...

It had already been taken over by Cao Cao's forces.

"M-My castle...It has already fallen into enemy hands..." the aged prefect lamented, slightly in disbelief at how quickly Cao Cao's forces moved. "Then we'll just have to take it back!" Zhang Fei responded, in true fashion of his own demeanor. "Right. Continue the advance; we'll need to secure a main base before launching a full assault against Cao Cao's army." Liu Bei ordered, the combined force's march proceeding as before.

However, something even more strange happened when they reached the castle.

The front gate was wide open, and it appeared that no one was inside. Although the banners signifying Cao Cao's forces still hung on its walls, no one seemed to be defending it, or was even there.

"What the hell is this? They went through all that trouble just to keep us away from an empty castle?" Fei yelled, slightly confused and outraged by the perceived stupidity. "I don't think it's that simple, Master Zhang Fei." Ren started, already having a thought as to what the _real _issue was here.

_'The old bait and lure...an 'empty castle' operation...' _Ren thought. Suddenly, a strong wind seemed to burst forth from nowhere, forcing everyone to cover their faces for a scant second. However, the gale was gone within a moment, and nothing appeared to have happened, except...

"Hey, Ren! Look at this!" Jin Zang called out, holding up a fallen banner that looked to have been snapped right off from its perch by the wind that just passed through.

That could only mean one thing...

"I knew it. They've set a trap." Ren said, a serious contemplation flitting across his visage. "Are you sure of this?" Bei asked, unknowing as to how the white-haired young man had come to such a revelation. "Positive. Remember the old saying? 'If a banner breaks in a strong wind, then the enemy is planning an ambush.' And with Cao Cao as our enemy, I'd say that it's a pretty safe bet." Ren answered, certain of the old adage as truth in this scenario.

"What course of action do you suggest, then?" Guan Yu asked, the others mentally questioning the same thing. "What else is there to do, but spring the trap and counter with one of our own?" Ren answered, a plan already beginning to form in his mind. "What is it that we need to do?" Zhao Yun asked.

"I've got an idea for a plan in mind...but first, Lord Tao Qian, is there another way to get inside your castle?" Ren asked the ruler, the aged man nodding in affirmation. "Yes, only one. There is an eastern gate to Xu Zhou, but the way there from our current location would force us to traverse the way through the mountain path you rescued me from earlier." he answered, Ren humming lightly in thought.

"We could set up ladders in order to reach the peak of the castle walls, and smoke out their ambush...however, I'm almost certain that they'll have a contingency plan utilizing that other gate." Ren thought aloud, worried at a potential reverse of fortune. "That's true...our entire main force is here. Even if we do spring them for an advantage of ours, they can just call in reinforcements, and then we'll all be in danger of annihilation." Jin said, seeing where Ren's train of thought was going.

"Hmm...However, I might have a plan for that as well. Lord Tao Qian, is there an hill or mountain that our army can ascend near the eastern gate?" Ren asked, thinking that the terrain could be used to an advantage. "Yes; the aforementioned mountain path will actually take us straight to the peak of the cliffs that overlook the castle surrounds. We would be directly above the eastern gate's area." Tao answered.

"Excellent. Then this just might work." Ren said, a full strategy in mind. "Alright, if you've got a plan in mind, kid, then hurry up and tell us!" Fei said, ready to get going. "Okay then...we'll need to split our army into two separate forces, for starters. One force will ascend to the mountaintop and launch an assault on any potential reinforcements waiting near the eastern gate. The other will have to enter the castle from here, and spring the ambush on themselves." Ren explained.

"That is quite a dangerous gambit...if this plan is discovered or nullified..." Guan Yu started, revealing the potential ramifications should the plan fail. "...Then we just might be done for. I know this is dangerous, but it's something. We'll need all the help we can get with beating Cao Cao. I'm sure that we can make this work." Ren responded, confident in the success of his plan.

"Supposing that we do go along with this, who's gonna do what?" Fei asked, wanting to see how far the young man had thought into this plan of his. "Well; Uncle, Zhao Yun, and myself will ascend the mountain for the surprise assault, and, although I am loathe to attempt such a thing, I would ask you, Lord Tao Qian, to be the bait for the ambush while accompanied by Lord Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei for support in case anything goes wrong." Ren explained gravely, shocking several of the others.

"What? Why must Lord Tao Qian be the bait?" Bei asked incredulously at the notion of using the venerable prefect in such a way. "Because he is who Cao Cao is after. If Lord Tao Qian is not present within the ranks of those whom are attempting to retake _his _castle, the enemy will know that something is amiss. Regardless, I will not force any of you into this. We must all be in agreement." Ren consented, unwilling to proceed with this strategy unless everyone was behind him on it.

"I am willing to fulfill the role that is necessary of me." Tao relented, agreeing to the plan. "Are you completely certain about doing this, Lord Tao Qian?" Bei asked. "Indeed, I am. I understand your misgivings, Master Liu Bei, but Cao Cao and his forces must be driven from this land, no matter the cost." Tao answered with conviction, fully committed to his part.

"Very well. Is everyone else consented to this plan?" Liu Bei asked the others of the army, receiving many nods from the various soldiers in response. "I'm up for it, as long as I get to bash some heads!" Fei responded in affirmation. "I will work toward the fulfillment of this strategy as well." Guan Yu answered. "I am also in agreement." Zhao Yun answered. "I'll do what I have to do; I'm in too, Ren." Jin Zang answered. "Then it's settled. Ren Jiang, we are all behind you." Liu Bei said with finality.

"I thank you all for your support. Now then, let's get started! We'll proceed with the setting up of ladders; I'll need all of the archers we can spare to set up along the castle's perimeter in support of the force we'll be stationing here." Ren ordered; with that, the stratagem was underway.

((two hours later))

The beginning of the plan was executed swiftly; the archers were armed and ready to assist at any time.

The two forces had separated; the contingent led by Tao Qian and Liu Bei were to wait for a bit before entering Xu Zhou, so as to give enough time for Ren Jiang's and Zhao Yun's force to set up the pincer.

"It's time...Once the ambush is sprung, we'll need to hold out for our reinforcements." Bei said, the army at the northern gate beginning to advance into the castle...

((with Ren's forces))

Having already cleared out this way before, the advance along the mountain pathway went smoothly; it wasn't long before they reached the cliffside summit.

"_You've really put some thought into this plan of yours, Ren; using the terrain to your advantage, as well as having a counter for the enemy's own potential contingency...I'm impressed. You are becoming quite the strategist." _Mei praised within Ren's mind. _'Well, I had some extremely valuable teachings. Thank you, Mei...I don't know how my life would've gone without you.' _Ren responded wholeheartedly, bringing a smile and a light color to the ice deity's visage. _"Ren..." _she thought wistfully, her feelings towards him growing at these constant acknowledgments of her.

As it turns out, Ren's intuition had been correct; an enemy force was stationed outside the eastern gate, waiting for a signal from within the castle. Ren could see that several of them were archers, most likely planning the same type of ambush that Tao Qian's forces had already put in place. "It seems that your thoughts on the matter of enemy reinforcements were correct." Zhao Yun remarked, seeing the oblivious force below. "Yeah...and the east gate's shut, so if we hurry, we can trick the enemy forces. It's nice to know things are working out. Now then, let's go!" Ren ordered, the allied force complying immediately and charging down the mountain.

The enemy force was caught completely off-guard by the attack, and was unable to respond appropriately to the overturned situation. They were utterly ran through by the assault force, now bolstered by an invigorated morale.

In the middle of the attack, Ren got into a battle with one of Cao Cao's retainers, named Yu Jin...

((that fight))

Ren had just cut down several soldiers through a 360 degree spin-out, when his sixth sense suddenly told him to duck; in doing so, he narrowly avoided being stabbed by a long spear that passed over his head, so close that he could feel a few hairs being cut from his head.

Batting the spear away from his proximity, he turned and saw that a male, several years older than he, was the wielder, and by the looks of his armor and ready stance, he was an officer, if not a general, of Cao Cao's forces.

"Whoever you are, I suggest you give it up. We _will _retake Xu Zhou Castle!" Ren declared, giving the young warrior an ultimatum to either retreat, or suffer _serious _consequences. "I am Yu Jin, general of the grand army of Lord Cao Cao. I refuse to run away! Now, face me in battle!" the man yelled in response as he charged forth with a battle cry.

Despite his declarations and moderate skill in battle, however, Yu Jin was a pushover compared to the raw might exhibited by stalwart warriors such as Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhao Yun.

Blocking a horizontal strike from Yu Jin, Ren lashed out, knocking the older man off-balance, and slashed him once with each of his twin spears. Retaliating, Yu Jin jumped and went for an overhead smash, but Ren crossed his weapons into an 'X' pattern and blocked the strike with ease.

Breaking the ensuing stalemate quickly, Ren backflipped, using the force's carry-over to send the man crashing backfirst into the scraggly mountain itself. Battered and bruised from his admittedly short duel with Ren, and seeing that his troops had reached a total wipeout from the assault, Yu Jin admitted defeat here, and retreated along with the few soldiers he had remaining.

((afterwards))

"Well, looks like we're done here." Jin remarked, relieved that the attack had gone so smoothly. "Seems that way...that's one part of the plan down; now, what about the rest...?" Ren responded, looking towards the castle.

The eastern force was set, but what will happen within the castle...?

((inside Xu Zhou))

It appeared that Ren's warning of an ambush was right on the mark.

As soon as the northern contingent marched into the castle, the gates behind them closed. Although not shocked at this turn of events, the force was wary of the enemy making their presence known as they headed towards the center of the castle.

And make themselves known, they did. The moment they reached the middle, the blue-wearing soldiers appeared.

The castle's interior was large; enough to be considered its own town. The enemy made use of that, and made sure to place soldiers in every hidden position they could get to that wouldn't be seen immediately by those coming from the northern gate.

In total, there was a large number of enemies, and with their only escape route now sealed off, Liu Bei's and Tao Qian's main force was completely encircled.

"Well, well. It took you all long enough to get here. I was starting to fear you weren't coming." an unfamiliar voice called out from within the enemy ranks. A line of them parting, they revealed a young man walking towards the front.

The man wore a somewhat simplified outfit despite it having intricate designs throughout. He wore a blue undershirt that was covered by a collared, silver vest with long sleeves. The undershirt was segmented into a small sash on his waist by a black belt and a long, fanciful cape that flowed behind him using a golden shoulder pad on his right arm. His black pants, accented by a golden design, extended all the way down his legs and doubled into identically colored boots. He also wore stark black gloves and blue diamond earrings.

His lithe body was thin despite retaining the usual male definition; his light brown hair, azure eyes, and flawless skin made out his appearance as very young, perhaps even around Ren's own age.

This young man's name was Guo Jia, and he was an extremely intelligent strategist, highly regarded by Cao Cao himself. He had anticipated an attempted retaking of Xu Zhou Castle, and he had his forces lying in wait accordingly.

"That was a valiant effort on your part for rescuing Tao Qian. Unfortunately, I'm afraid that it has all been for naught. Your defeat has come, and we now have both of you in our clutches at once." Jia said, referring towards Tao Qian and Liu Bei.

"Is that so...?" Bei responded mysteriously before giving out a loud whistle. The archers, who had previously set themselves atop the castle walls, now revealed their presence, readying their bows and aiming towards Guo Jia's forces.

The young intellectual merely laughed condescendingly at this, knowing that he had his own plan for such an eventuality. "Now, this is quite surprising...I wasn't aware that you had a strategist in your midst as well. No matter...this may have worked, if only I didn't have my own reinforcements lying in wait just outside the eastern gate." Jia said, making a wordless signal towards the gatekeepers to open the gates for their reinforcements.

Liu Bei and his forces turned to face the opening gate with apprehension. _'Come on, kid...don't let us __down!' _Zhang Fei thought, hoping that the eastern forces were ready.

"I'm afraid that your reinforcements are quite incapacitated." they heard another voice, this time familiar, as the gate reached the apex of its opening.

Despite himself, Guo Jia couldn't keep the mild shock from his face at the sight of extra troops for Liu Bei and Tao Qian, not his own, entering the castle through the now open gate. _'It seems that I may just have been outwitted here...how surprising.' _the young strategist thought as he reassessed the situation.

The forces of Liu Bei and Tao Qian were in front of the closed northern gate; this new force now blocked the eastern gate. It looked that his forces had been caught in their ownstratagem. He looked towards the white-haired man leading the east front.

"Hmm...stark white hair and blue eyes; you must be the famous Ren Jiang whom my lord informed me of." Jia said, noting the young leader of the group. "So, you know about me, huh? Well then, may I ask for the courtesy of knowing who you are as well?" Ren responded, his forces now fully embedded within the castle. "How very polite of you. Very well, my name is Guo Jia, and I am the main strategist of my lord, Cao Cao's, army." he answered honestly, surprising Liu Bei's forces at his identity.

"Then it's too bad you came here personally. This battle is over for you. I suggest you come quietly, or we _will _use force!" Ren declared, presenting the scenario before Jia, who slowly...clapped in recognition? "Bravo, very impressive. I assume that you are the one who concocted this scheme here in order to counter my own?" Jia asked Ren, who merely nodded in confirmation, causing Jia to laugh once again.

"Hahahaha! How interesting...a skillful warrior and a capable strategist; you surely live up to your name, 'Rising Star'. However, you have overlooked one crucial matter in this plan of yours." he said mysteriously, a smirk beginning to play across his face. "And what would that be?" Ren asked, wondering what plot this man could still have in store.

"A great strategist...always has an escape plan." Jia finalized, his smirk beginning to take on a more...malicious quality.

Feeling an ominous shift in the air, Ren was about to yell out in warning, but before anyone could react, Jia snapped his fingers, apparently as a signal, and then...

_**BOOM!**_

Notes

Well, that's another one down already. The homework-free weekend gave me a lot of extra time, so after I finished the last one, I got a good start on this one. I think my story writing goal is within sight; I'll try and get another chapter done before this next weekend's over.

The reason I had Guo Jia appear so early was because I saw this fight played out on YouTube, and I noticed that he was one of the first generals whom Liu Bei's and Tao Qian's forces fought. I'm sure you noticed that I changed some things around from how the fight played out in DW7(if you have seen or remember from the game), and I hope that I made the progression plausible.

Yes, I know that the archers set atop the castle walls could've simply fired without any ado, or Ren's eastern contingency could've merely attacked when they tricked Guo Jia into letting them in, but I figured that would speed things up a bit much, and I didn't want Jia to be taken down so easily. (That's also why I did the part at the very end there; can you guess what Jia did?)

Character Ages  
>Jin Zang: 30<br>Guo Jia: 24

Anyways, this is KnightMan1890, signing off! See ya soon!


	23. Redux Notice

Hey there people. This is Knightman1890, regrettably here to inform you that my Chaos Reigns story will be discontinued.

Well, I shouldn't say 'discontinued' because technically, it's not. I'm actually planning on redoing it from the beginning. You see, I've been reading some of my chapters that I've posted, and I've repeatedly found myself dissatisfied with how several of them turned out.

I feel that some of the scenes were a bit rushed, or at least, weren't properly fleshed out. I want to try my hand at adding the meticulous detail that I believe it deserves, plus I'm a bit of a perfectionist and there were some grammar errors that were just unacceptable to me.

I've already made the prologue for the remix, and I'm proud to say that I've almost completely _doubled _the amount of content that I put into it the first time. It should be up within the same day as this notice, so check it out whenever you get a chance...I'm fairly certain you'll find it a decent read.

Anyways, with that, I'm signing off! Get ready for the redux!

P.S. The remix will have a _much _darker undertone to the storyline, at least where Ren is concerned. Be ready for it!


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